Of Wizardry and Shadows
by Yami-no-Tamashii
Summary: HP/YGO As Harry and his friends continue their seemingly hopeless search for the Horcruxes, a new magic makes its way into the wizarding world. Meanwhile, Yugi and the gang take a well-deserved vacation, but alas, trouble always seems to follow.
1. Strange Magic

**Y-n-T: **Okay, you probably either all hate me or love me for beginning a new fanfiction when my other one is at a really suspenseful cliffy. Of Egyptians and Shinigami will be updated as soon as find a way around getting Raito arrested too early in the story xD. So technically it's on hiatus for a bit.

Yes, I know I changed the title. The other one seemed...'done', if you know what I mean.

This is the fanfiction that seemed to meet the most demand in my poll, leading with four out of seven votes. The other three went: two to Lies and Betrayal, and one to Everybody's Fool. Personally, I kind of wanted to start Lies and Betrayal, but the demands of my readers shall always come first! So here it is:

**Disclaimer: **I do not own. Yu-Gi-Oh! belongs to Kazuki Takahashi and Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling.

* * *

_**Harry Potter and the Shadow Casters**_

* * *

"Malik! Marik! Get down here already, the Pharaoh and the others are waiting for you!" Ishizu's voice rang through the house, rousing the two tan teens from their slumber. With discontented groans, they tumbled out of their beds, and reluctantly got dressed.

"MALIK! MARIK!"

"COMING, LADY! Ra, you're sister sure has a large set of lungs!"

"She's your sister too, jackass."

* * *

Yugi, Ryou, Malik, Marik, Bakura, and Yami trudged wearily through the busy streets of London, still disorientated from their flight over. They were in England, thousands of miles away from their home. It had been Grandpa Mutou's suggestion that they all took a vacation from dueling, and go enjoy the nature and fresh air. The teens didn't have much choice in the matter, as Ishizu, Rishid, and Mr. Bakura (Ryou's father) had all ganged up on them. Finally they decided that it would be nice to get away from the rabid fangirls and fanboys for a change; Yami, Yugi, Malik, and Marik especially had lost some valuable buckles and jewelry when coming into contact with them.

And so here they were, hopelessly lost among the cobbled streets of England's capital, and worst of all, without a map. They hadn't the slightest clue as to where they were and where they were going to stay, only that they were supposed to go camping in some remote forest in a few days.

"Hey, why don't we stop and ask for directions?" Ryou suggested.

"I guess it's the only thing we _can _do right now," Yami agreed. Suddenly, Malik pointed to a spot directly ahead of them.

"Look, there's pub down there! If we're lucky, the bartender in there will give us directions to the nearest hotel."

They walked into the shabby-looking pub, only stopping to note the name: The Leaky Cauldron. ("What kind of name is that?" Bakura had commented.) The interior was dark and gloomy, with only a few sinister looking people in cloaks sitting at the tables. Needless to say, the teens from Japan, with their unnatural hair and colorful clothing, stuck out like a sore thumb. Yugi nervously walked up to the bartender, who resembled a toothless walnut…a very sad toothless walnut. He was scrubbing at a beer tankard absently, as though not really seeing it. Yugi cleared his throat to get the man's attention.

"Um, excuse me sir, but we're kind of lost. Could you point us to the nearest hotel?"

The whole pub fell silent at Yugi's words. The bartender stared at Yugi with a surprised expression on his face. "Nearest…hotel?" he asked. Yugi nodded. The rest of the gang watched apprehensively from the middle of the room. Suddenly, a chair scraped, and one of the cloaked figures stood up.

"You muggle-born?" he rasped, pointing an accusing finger at the group of teens.

"What?" Marik asked. It was the wrong thing to say. The other people in the bar stood up, pulling long pieces of wood from their pockets and sleeves, and pointing it at the group of teens. The bartender backed away nervously, and looked like he wanted to be anywhere but there in that pub.

"You _are_ muggle-born!" the person who had spoken before cried out, pulling out his own piece of wood. The yamis took up a protective stance in front of their lights, Yami dragging Yugi into the center of the circle. His eyes narrowed.

"What do you mean, _muggle-born_?" he asked.

"Filthy mudbloods, don't play dumb! You know we'll have to take you to the ministry to examine your family tree for magical heritage. Although from the looks of it, none of you have any, so we might as well kill you right now," another hooded figure said. The others cackled wickedly, and began to close in. Suddenly, some of them shouted out,

"_Avada Kedavra!_"

Yami was first to react. He reached into his deck-holder, pulling out a card, praying to all the gods he knew of that it was the right one. "Mirror Force!" A bright, semi-transparent dome surrounded the teens, and the jets of green light ricocheted off of it harmlessly, rebounding towards their owners. They all collapsed to the ground, dead. Yami winced; sure he had had no problems sending people's souls to the shadows, but this, this taking of life, even the life of a criminal, did not agree with him. He heard the others behind him sigh with relief.

The other cloaked figures had now recovered from their shock. How had these mudbloods repelled the Killing Curse? It was impossible! They, too, started to chant a spell, but were nearly knocked off their feet by a huge steel cage that had encircled all but the bartender. Nightmare Steel Cage had done its work.

Malik put the card back in his deck, and pulled on Marik's arm. "Let's get out of here! Who knows how long that thing will last?"

And with that, the teens dashed out of the pub, and blended into the crowds roaming the now darkening streets.

Tom the bartender had seen enough. Sneaking back into his study, he hurriedly took a pinch of Floo powder and sprinkled it into the fire place. Stepping into it, he said, "The Burrow!" and disappeared in a whoosh of green fire.

* * *

"What the bloody hell was that all about?" Bakura asked, collapsing on the bed. Luckily for them, the Nightmare Steel Cage had held up, so they were able to make it to the nearest hotel without being pursued.

"I don't know, but it appears as though there are other branches of magic here that we are not aware of," Yami said gravely.

"No shit, Sherlock," Bakura snapped. "What I want to know is why the hell they were so hostile! All we did was ask for directions to a hotel, and they go calling us names!"

Ryou spoke up. "Remember when they said that they were going to have our family trees examined for magical heritage? Maybe they're racist or something, and don't like people with no magic in their family."

"It's a thought, but that would mean that they don't like practically ninety-nine percent of the world's population," Malik said. At this point Yugi spoke up.

"Let's not worry about this now guys! I mean, we're on vacation! We get to skip school! Shouldn't we be concentrating on having fun? I mean, we'll be out of town by tomorrow anyways, so why worry? You know what they say, 'Out of sight, out of mind,' right?"

"The Pharaoh's shrimp is right, let's just forget about the whole incident. I mean, seriously, if those cloaked freaks are having trouble in their world, it's the least of our problems," Marik said, surprising everyone with the seriousness of his tone. Soon, however, they were too tired to argue any further, and fell asleep on the spot.

* * *

"What do you mean, they reflected the Killing Curse?" the Dark Lord hissed at his cowering servant. The figure at his feet whimpered.

"E-exactly what I meant, my lord. They said some kind of phrase and suddenly there was this force-field that blocked and reflected the curses right back at them!" the Death Eater stuttered.

"Where are they now?"

"W-we don't know. T-they left the pub as soon as they had trapped us in the cage, and by the time the cage disappeared, they were gone."

"FIND THEM! I will not have kids with this much power interfering with my plans! Though they might have just been in the wrong place at the wrong time, I don't want to take any chances!" the Dark Lord ordered. The Death Eater bowed, and, with ill-disguised relief, left the room.

Lord Voldemort started pacing restlessly around the room, a thousand questions in his normally calm mind. Who were these people who had the power to not only block, but _reflect_ an Unforgivable Curse? Whoever they were, he vowed, they will be of use to him once he found them.

* * *

Hundreds of miles away, a teenager with messy black hair and startling green eyes shot straight up in bed, gasping. With trembling hands, he felt the scar etched onto his forehead.

_What was he up to now?_

* * *

To Be Continued…

* * *

**Y-n-T: **_-collapses- _Whew! That took forever! I hope it wasn't too cliché for ya folks! At least this time, the YGO characters won't be students OR teachers, considering that the wizarding world probably wouldn't employ them anyways. xD

**Malik: **Woohoo! Alright, this is getting good!

**Marik: **How come only the Pharaoh got to kill people?

**Y-n-T: **Because when I thought of the card Mirror Force, I immediately pictured Yami playing it. xD Yes I know you two probably also have it in your decks, but Yami uses it more!

**Harry: **Please review! Yami-n-Tamashii will hand out…uh…cyber plushies of…ME!!!

**Y-n-T: **As is customary for all my newly started stories, four reviews = NEW CHAPTER!!!


	2. The Demise of a Locket

**Y-n-A: **I just noticed today after I had posted Bleeding Love that this fic had four reviews already. xD So I'm just gonna cut the Author's Notes crap and skip right to the chapter!

**Disclaimer: **Screw the disclaimer, I have enough money to by both fandoms!!! Not. Don't own, never will.

By the way, Ron never abandons them…because well, when Harry follows the Silver Doe…hehehe, lets just say that I'm planning for someone else to rescue him. Hehehe…

Words in italics are copied from the book, by the way. Also some more implied Yaoi…heh heh heh, I love teasing them.

* * *

Harry blinked open his eyes after feeling his feet come into contact with the ground. He never did get used to Apparating or Disapparating. He looked around at the snowy forest they were in.

"Where are we?" he asked Hermione, who was shuffling things around in her bag. Ron was peering through the trees, as though expecting some kind of monster to leap out at them.

"The Forest of Dean," she said. "I came camping here once with my mum and dad."

_Here too snow lay on the trees all around and it was bitterly cold, but they were at least protected from the wind. They spent most of the day inside the tent, huddled for warmth around the useful bright blue flames that Hermione was so adept at producing, and which could be scooped up and carried around in a jar. Harry felt as though he was recuperating from some brief but severe illness, an impression reinforced by Hermione's solicitousness. That after noon fresh flakes drifted down upon them, so that even their sheltered clearing had a fresh dusting of powdery snow._

After the fiasco at Godric's Hollow, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were more tense than ever. Voldemort was searching for them, that they were now sure of. Also, Ron and Hermione tread with cautious steps around Harry. Now that he was wandless, his temper was getting the better of him most days, and, well, let's just say you don't want to be around when Harry was mad. Hermione and Ron had offered to take turns letting Harry borrow their wands when he was on lookout, but none of their wands worked very well for him, no surprise there.

* * *

"Who's idea was it again to go camping in the middle of winter?" Marik's teeth chattered as they trudged through the snow, in search of a place to camp. Eventually they came to a clearing, not far from a small frozen pool hidden in the thickets (hint hint).

"Don't know, don't care. Bloody hell it's freezing!" Bakura grumbled, holding his trench coat tighter around his slim frame. "It never got like this in Egypt, dammit!" Yami, who was currently rubbing his palms together to stay warm, nodded in agreement (for once).

"Well of course, you're from _Egypt_! It almost never rains there, let alone snow!" Ryou's tone was irritated and annoyed. He, being used to British weather, had no qualms about trudging miles through a snow-ridden forest.

"They're just upset because, since we're staying in the same tent, they can't _do anything_ to us, if you know what I mean," Malik said playfully, enjoying the look that befell the darks' faces. Ryou and Yugi blushed shamelessly, and for the next few minutes they set up the tent in awkward silence.

Finally, the tent was set up, and fire was flickering feebly. They all sat around the fire, sharing jokes and laughing at nothing in particular. The topic strayed to Duel Monsters more than once, and Yugi and Ryou had to hold Yami and Bakura back from a full-out holographic duel by reminding them that Grandpa said 'No duels during vacation'. Needless to say, both yamis were extremely pissed when they finally gave in.

Later that night, a silent shadow crept out of the confines of the tent. The once-nameless Pharaoh, Atemu, sat by the fire, deep in thought. He had had a strange feeling earlier, when they were eating dinner. A feeling that…there was some sort of magical presence nearby. Before he had shrugged it off as drowsiness, but just now, in his sleeping bag, he had felt it again. Something, or _someone,_ with magic was nearby. Yami decided to make it his duty to find out whether or not they were a threat to his hikari.

Suddenly, there was a flash of silver through the leaves, near the frozen pool they had passed earlier. Yami crept up cautiously to peer through the bushes.

* * *

Harry had been following the silver doe for seemed like hours, until finally, it led him to this small, frozen pool. The silver doe had long since disappeared, leaving Harry alone in the darkness. Vaguely he wondered how the hell he was supposed to find his way back to camp, but this thought was soon chased away by the feeling that he was being watched…by more than one person. He peered into the thick undergrowth; at first he thought he saw movement in the trees a few feet away, but his gaze was diverted by a flash of red to his right. Eying the bush warily, he shrugged it off as nerves and continued his examination of the pool.

"Lumos."

The wandlight illuminated the pool, and threw the thin sheet of glass Harry could make out a glint of gold and red. _The Sword of Godric Gryffindor!!! _Harry tried to summon it, but to no avail.

_What was it, Harry asked himself (walking again), that Dumbledore had told him the last time he had retrieved the sword? _Only a true Gryffindor could have pulled _that_ out of the hat. _And what were the qualities that defined a Gryffindor? A small voice inside Harry's head answered him: _Their daring, nerve, and chivalry set Gryffindors apart.

_Harry stopped walking and let out a long sigh, his smoky breath dispersing rapidly upon the frozen air. He knew what he had to do. If he was honest with himself, he had thought it might come to this from the moment he had spotted the sword through the ice. _

After a final glance around the clearing, Harry began to remove his layers upon layers of clothing, until there he stood in just his boxers, shivering his arse off. Pointing Hermione's wand at the ice, he muttered, "Diffindo." The ice cracked, and, after a moment's hesitation, he jumped, barely registering the muffled shout that came from behind him, as a dark figure stumbled into the clearing.

All that mattered was getting the sword.

* * *

Yami stared in dismay at the broken ice of the pool. The fool! What had that kid been thinking? He could see the kid's dark shape floundering about in the water. Strange, he seemed to be having trouble breathing. There was only one thing he could do now.

Sighing dismally at the task ahead (to be honest, wearing wet leather pants did not sound at all inviting at the moment), Yami took off this (leather) jacket and boots, plus his many bracelets and belts, so that now he was only wearing his pants and tank top. The boy looked like he really needed help down there, and all for a simple sword. Without a second thought, Yami dived.

* * *

The water was freezing cold. Harry's brain itself seemed to have frozen as he pushed through the dark water and groped for the sword. Suddenly something closed tight around his neck; Harry first thought it was a weed, but as he raised his hand he found that it was not a weed; the chain of the Horcrux had tightened and was now slowly constricting his windpipe.

Harry kicked out in a frenzy, trying to resurface, his frozen fingers unable to loosen the chain. _Little lights were popping inside his head, and for a moment he was convinced that he was going to drown, that there was nothing left, nothing he could do. The arms that closed around his chest were surely Death's…_

Choking and gagging, soaking wet and colder than he had ever been in his life, he fell facedown in the snow. His frozen mind vaguely registered that another person was panting and coughing and stumbling around. Hermione or Ron had come again, as they had come when the snake attacked…yet it did not sound like either of them. Not with those deep coughs, yet light footsteps.

Harry had barely enough strength to lift his head and see his savior's identity. It was all he could do you reach a shaking hand to his throat and feel around for the locket chain, but it was gone; someone had cut it away. Then a panting voice spoke from over his head.

"Are – you – _mental­?_"

Harry stared up at the figure above him. His mind was still too fuzzy to make out exactly who it was; all he could tell was that this person was definitely NOT Ron or Hermione. That was his last thought before his mind succumbed to the numbness that was slowly taking over his brain, and he blacked out.

* * *

Yami sighed in frustration. Great, now that the kid just passed out, there was no way he could give him directions back to wherever it was he came from. Yami was considering bringing him back to his tent, but then realized that the kid was probably several pounds too heavy for him to carry. Sighing, he took out his dueling deck.

"Hinotama Soul, please melt the snow in this clearing, and try not to burn anything."

The Duel Monster gave a nod of assent before complying. When it was done the clearing was now devoid of snow, and the air was pleasantly warm. That ought to help the boy wake up. Before Yami could set about wringing out his clothes, though, footsteps were heard coming closer and closer, crashing through the underbrush. Yami tensed, and before he could react, something had hurled into his chest, sending him flying back a good ten feet across the clearing.

"What the---?"

"What have you done to him?!" a voice shouted. Yami looked up from his temporary daze to see a red-headed boy about his age glaring at him, pointing one of those wooden sticks at him. His eyes narrowed.

"I didn't do anything to him! He just jumped into that pool like an idiot after that sword, and _I_ pulled him out!"

"Like hell you did! You did something! What did you do? Answer me! _Petrificus Totalus_!" Before Yami could react, his hands and feet snapped together and he was immobilized against the tree. Great, just great. Closing his eyes, Yami concentrated on the power of the Shadows, demanding them to free him from this body-bind. It worked. A blur of shadows, and Yami was on his feet, dusting himself off. The redhead could only stare in amazement. How???

"Dammit, just listen, will you?" Yami growled. Seriously, who did these people think they were, attacking him like that? He now recognized the magical signature; it was the same type of magic that those cloaked figures had used in that pub.

He turned to go, until more rustling was heard coming from the bushes behind him. The group in the clearing froze, staring at the wildly waving fronds. A head poked out of the undergrowth, and pretty soon several people came tumbling into the clearing.

"Ra, Pharaoh, where the hell were you? Your hikari almost wet himself when he woke up and found that you weren't in the camp!" Bakura complained, still rubbing sleep from his eyes. He suddenly seemed to catch sight of the other people in the clearing. "Well well well, what do we have here? Who are these people?"

"Don't ask me. Since I apparently saved their friend's life, they attacked me and pinned me to a tree. But I suppose they were just confused," Yami turned to stare at the two teenagers. Bakura scrutinized them closely. Yami finally seemed to notice the other people who had followed him into the clearing.

"Yugi!" Running up to his precious light, he hugged him tightly, muttering apologies over and over again about how he hadn't informed him of his absence. Yugi just nodded and leaned against his arms, staring at the scene taking place in front of him with wide, childish eyes.

* * *

Harry groaned. The voices around him were making his head hurt. He opened his eyes blearily, and stiffly sat up. At once the talking ceased, and Harry felt more than two pairs of eyes on him. That was strange, who were the other people?

Looking up, he saw his savior standing a ways in front of him, arms wound tightly around a boy that looked like a mini version of himself. Looking around, he saw Ron and Hermione gazing at him with relieved and worried eyes. There were other people too, but before he could even begin to make sense of all of them, Hermione was fussing over him. She poked and prodded him, muttering incantations with her wand that seemingly did nothing whatsoever to soothe Harry's headache. Finally, he spoke up.

"So, um, what's going on here?"

"Your _friends_ here thought I had done something to you, and sent me flying all the way across the clearing before I got them to stop," his savior commented dryly, baritone voice ringing out around the clearing. Looking up, Harry saw a handsome, tan face staring at him, with a mop of wild, tri-colored hair atop his head. He suppressed a shiver; the man's eyes were the same red as Voldemort's.

Hermione finally spoke up. "Um, excuse me, sir, but what did you do to the clearing? It's all warm and…there's no snow." Now that Harry looked around, Hermione was right. The clearing was currently devoid of snow, and the air felt crisp and warm. What the hell?

The man looked away. "That's…none of your business," he said gruffly. "Come on Bakura, Yugi, Malik, Marik, Ryou. We're leaving." As they turned to do just that, the man froze suddenly, fingers twitching towards his pocket.

* * *

Yami froze. A pulse of magic had emanated from his pocket. His fingers twitched reflexively. He stuck his hand in his pocket and dug out the locket that had been practically choking the boy to death. It was quite beautiful, made of gold with an emerald 'S' engraved on the cover. The 'S' was stylized to look like a snake. Another pulse of magic emanated from the locket. Yami's eyes narrowed. There was some…_thing_ in there, trapped within the golden doors. Something sinister. He glanced back at the strange teens in the clearing. They shouldn't be carrying around something like this. Discreetly slipping it back into his pocket (and thinking wryly about the Tomb Robber's reaction when he found out that he was stealing), he followed the others back to camp.

* * *

When the last teen had disappeared through the trees, Harry, Ron and Hermione picked up the sword and made their way back to the tent.

"Blimey, they sure were a strange bunch. Did you see the hair on those guys?" Ron commented as they finally entered the tent. Harry nodded in agreement, his throat was still feeling rather sore from the whole ordeal. As they settled back down into their bunks, Harry suddenly remembered something.

"Um, guys, where's the locket?"

Ron and Hermione looked at him curiously. "I thought you had it, mate!" Harry shook his head.

"No, when I jumped into the pool, it started choking me. That guy rescued me, and must have cut it off or something."

"Then that must means he has it! The bastards!" Ron cursed. "Now we'll have to go and get it back!"

Hermione nodded in agreement. She and Ron tried to persuade Harry to stay put, but he blatantly refused, so they had no choice but to let him come with them. They trudged determinedly through the snow, in the direction of the frozen pool. From there they would be able to find the other teens' camp.

* * *

The darks sat in a circle around the strange locket in front of the fire. After Yami had explained his suspicions to them, they concluded that whatever was in the locket had to be taken care of. In short, they were going to destroy whatever was sealed inside.

Yami, Bakura, and Marik sat cross-legged, eyes closed. Sweat dripped down their brows from the intense concentration, as they drew in the Shadows. Yugi, Ryou, and Malik watched nervously at the other side of the clearing. The locket was now being suspended in the air by some invisible force, and slowly, very slowly, it was starting to ease open. The yamis muscles tensed from the extreme concentration; this was harder than they had expected.

Suddenly, three figures crashed through the bushes on the other side of the clearing. The three teens from before stopped dead beside the lights, eyes wide, staring at the phenomenon before them. How were these people doing that? Were they wizards? The redhead opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, Malik had clamped his hand over it.

"Don't. Say. Anything. Lest you ruin their concentration, and believe me, they won't like that," he hissed threateningly. The boy nodded, and Malik slowly removed his hand. They watched silently as the yamis used their magic to finally ease open the locket.

Behind both of the glass windows within blinked a living eye, dark and handsome as they had been before they had become sinister and red. A snake-like voice echoed from the locket.

"_Who dares to disturb my slumber? Filthy mudbloods and vermin, what power is this that you managed to uncover me?"_

The yamis by now had opened their eyes, and were currently staring at the eyes in the locket with confusion, shock, and curiosity. When no one answered, the eyes seemed to get impatient.

"_Fools! For disturbing me, you shall—!"_

But Bakura got to it first. With a seemingly lazy flick of his wrist, a tendril of shadows shot out of his fingers, and went straight into the pupils of the eyes. The locket seemed to emit a long, drawn-out scream of anguish.

"Oh shut up you!" Bakura snarled, and with a last flick of his wrist, he whipped the shadow tendrils out of the locket, and the pendant fell to the ground. The glass in both windows had been pierced through, the eyes were gone, and the silk lining was smoking slightly. With a sigh of relief, Bakura, Yami, and Marik fell backwards onto the snow.

* * *

Ron summed up the whole situation rather well, "What. The. _HELL?!?!_"

Everyone turned to stare at the newcomers. Ron flushed darkly, and Hermione cleared her throat nervously. Harry just stood there, thinking about what had just happened.

How had these people destroyed the Horcrux? They hadn't used Basilisk venom, of that he was sure of. What other things had Hermione said could destroy Horcruxes?

"Shadow Magic," Hermione whispered. The strangers in the campsite froze. "One of the only other things that can destroy a Horcrux. Shadow Magic. But," she looked up. "It's so incredibly rare for someone to be born with such abilities. Who…who exactly are you?"

* * *

To Be Continued…

* * *

**Y-n-T: **O_O Wow, now that I think about it, that was a really lame chapter….

**Harry: **Aw, it wasn't that bad!

**Malik:** Yeah…I mean seriously, what else could you have done?

**Y-n-T: **Thanks guys! Please review!!! Flamers are welcome with open arms, IF YOU DARE!!! Don't forget, I have Yami's Mind-Crushing powers at my disposal!!!

**Yami:** Hey!

**Ron: **Again, please review. If you do you will be given *pfft* Cyber Voldemort plushies!

**Y-n-T: **Complete with frilly pink dresses, high heels, and wigs!!! Oooh, and don't forget make-up!!! xD Dress him up as much as you want!


	3. Caught

**Dark Soul: **Hey peoples! I'm just going to alternate between updating this story and _Lies and Betrayal._ _Of Egyptians and Death Gods _is still on temporary hiatus, so if you have any good ideas on how to get Raito off the hook for a few more chapters, please let me know! Also, I'm going to refer to myself as Dark Soul now, because it's so much easier than going Y dash n dash T…yeah, you get my drift.

Also, I'm leaving the Deathly Hallows out because once I get the damn Hufflepuff cup out of Gringotts I'm not going to follow the story line that much at all, so please bear with me. Not to mention the fact I think the Hallows were kinda unnecessary.

**Hermione: **On with the story!

**Disclaimer: **Yu-Gi-Oh belongs to Kazuki Takahashi, Harry Potter belongs to J. K. Rowling.

* * *

**Previously on Yu-Gi-Oh!**

Ron summed up the whole situation rather well, "What. The. Bloody. _HELL?!?!_"

Everyone turned to stare at the newcomers. Ron flushed darkly, and Hermione cleared her throat nervously. Harry just stood there, thinking about what had just happened.

How had these people destroyed the Horcrux? They hadn't used Basilisk venom, of that he was sure of. What other things had Hermione said could destroy Horcruxes?

"Shadow Magic," Hermione whispered. The strangers in the campsite froze. "One of the only other things that can destroy a Horcrux. Shadow Magic. But," she looked up. "It's so incredibly rare for someone to be born with such abilities. Who…who exactly are you?"

* * *

**And now the conclusion!**

After Hermione's statement, things were pretty hectic. Questions flew everywhere. "Who are you?" and "What do you want?" were heard more than once. Finally, Ryou had had enough.

"ALRIGHT PEOPLES, INSTEAD OF US ALL ASKING QUESTIONS AT ONCE, CAN WE PLEASE GO ABOUT DOING THIS IN AN ORDERLY FASHION?!" he shouted.

The darks and other lights stared at the normally shy and quiet boy in surprise. Harry, Ron, and Hermione simply looked livid. Eventually, however, they all managed to squeeze around the fire, where they took turns firing questions and answering them.

"Who are you guys? What did you do to the Horcrux?" Hermione repeated once more. The boys' eyebrows rose. Yami cocked his head to the side.

"Horcrux? Is that what it was?" Hermione nodded, and Yami continued. "On my way out of the clearing, I sensed something…sinister about the locket. I felt that kids like you shouldn't be carrying around something like this, so I decided to deal with it myself."

"But how?" Hermione persisted. She simply had to know everything. "There are only three things that can destroy a Horcrux. Basilisk Venom, Fiend Fyre, and Shadow Magic. Since you didn't use the venom and obviously not the fire, you MUST have used Shadow Magic. But it was said to have become extinct millennia ago; how come you guys have that power?"

Bakura obviously did not like the question. Eyes flashing dangerously, he snarled, "Too many questions will get you killed, little girl!"

"Don't talk to her like that!" Ron defended Hermione. "Besides, what gives you right to call her a 'little girl'? You don't look much older than us!"

For some reason, Yami chuckled at this comment, as Marik, Malik, and Bakura burst into hysterics. Yugi and Ryou also tried unsuccessfully to hide their smiles. Harry, Ron, and Hermione just stared at them, confused. Finally, Yami stopped chuckling long enough to say,

"Bakura and I are a lot older than we look, Ms. Granger. That we can assure you."

"Damn straight!" Malik blurted out, before doubling over once again. Harry cocked his head, confused.

"Then how old ARE you two?"

Bakura smirked. "You really don't want us to answer that," he said.

"Um, can we please get back on topic?" Ryou asked impatiently.

"Sooo…" Yugi began, leaning against Yami's chest. "What were you guys doing with that locket anyways? Does it have something to do with your 'wizarding world'?"

Harry, Ron, and Hermione glanced at each other uneasily. "Um, excuse us for a sec," Hermione said, and she hastily dragged Harry and Ron away from the campfire. They stood in a huddle on the other end of the clearing.

"Well, what you think? Should we tell them the truth?" she asked worriedly.

"They already know about the Horcrux, so we might as well," Harry said.

"But what if they're spies for You-Know-Who or something? Did you see Yami's eyes? They were RED! What good guy has red eyes?" Ron asked fearfully. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Honestly Ron, do you really think that Voldemort would've ordered his Death Eaters to destroy one of his Horcruxes?"

"Oh yeah."

"I say we tell them about the Horcruxes, but we'll leave out some of the details. Who knows, maybe they'll be able to help us, especially if for some reason we don't have the sword handy. They're the only other people who can destroy these Horcruxes," Harry suggested. Hermione and Ron murmured their assent, and they returned to the campfire.

Marik looked up from the campfire. "So, have you decided whether or not to reveal your secrets?" he asked playfully. Hermione rolled her eyes, and Ron gave a slight cough. Sitting back down, Harry began,

"Okay, what we're about to tell you is highly classified information, so you'd better not tell anybody about this."

Yugi gave Harry a sympathetic look. "We understand. You're not the only one with big secrets."

Harry sighed in relief. He then began to tell them about the wizarding world, about Hogwarts, and about the Ministry. He told them about the Dark Lord Voldemort, and how he was out to get Harry (though he did not tell them why), and how his followers had infiltrated and all but taken over the Ministry of Magic. Hermione then took over, telling them about how they had found out that Voldemort was using Horcruxes in order to stay immortal. The hikaris' eyes had all widened when they found out the means of making a Horcrux, and Yami, Bakura, and Marik all narrowed their eyes and clenched their jaws. Sealed souls (whether or not they were whole) were a touchy subject for them.

"So let me get this straight. This…Voldemort, is sealing pieces of his soul into inanimate objects so that if his body is destroyed, his soul will still live on?" Bakura asked incredulously. The students nodded. "Oookay…there is something extremely wrong with this picture."

"You really shouldn't be talking, Tomb Robber. Remember the time _you_ sealed a piece of your soul into _my _puzzle?" Yami asked wryly. Harry, Ron, and Hermione's eyes widened, and Bakura scratched his head sheepishly.

"Uh…yeah, about that…"

* * *

The rest of the night passed by smoothly. The two groups of teens exchanged stories of their various adventures, and the former students had moved their tent into the same clearing as the Item-holders, so that they had easy access to each other.

One night, the Item-holders, Harry, and Hermione, walked in on Ron crouching on the floor of the tent, tapping a radio repeatedly with his wand. Malik cocked an eyebrow.

"Might I ask what the hell you are doing, Weasley?"

"Trying to find tonight's airing of Potterwatch. It's a radio station devoted only to news on Harry, and the Death Eater's movements. But the thing is, there's a password for every airing. They're normally something to do with the Order. Bill had a real knack for guessing them. I'm bound to get one in the end…."

But not until March did luck favor Ron at last. The teens were busy fooling around in the clearing, when all of a sudden an excited shout was heard within Harry's tent.

"I've got it, I've got it! Password was 'Albus'! Get in here, Harry, everybody!"

The yamis and hikaris squeezed in after Harry and Hermione, and they all crowded around the rather small radio, straining to hear what was being said.

"…_apologize for our temporary absence from the airwaves, which was due to a number of house calls in our area by those charming Death Eaters."_

"_But that's Lee Jordan!" said Hermione._

"Lee who?" Bakura asked.

"Old friend of ours," Ron answered. "Now shush, I'm trying to listen!"

"_...now found ourselves another secure location," Lee was saying, "and I'm pleased to tell you that two of our regular contributors have joined me here this evening. Evening, boys!"_

And so Lee went on to introduce 'River' and 'Romulus', whom Hermione explained were their friends Kingsley Shacklebolt and Remus Lupin. Harry, Ron, and Hermione all gasped in horror when they reported the deaths of one Ted Tonks and one Dirk Cresswell, plus a goblin named Gornuk.

More deaths of muggles were reported in Gaddley, courtesy of the Killing Curse that Yami had blocked back at the pub. The students lowered their heads once again when the death of Bathilda Bagshot was mentioned. After a moments silence in memory of the lost ones, Royal (Kingsley) put in a few words on how the muggles were so far remaining ignorant of the rising threat of the Dark Lord. Romulus also put in a few words of encouragement for Harry 'wherever he may be', and once again Harry regretted those harsh words he had said to him back at Grimmauld Place.

"…_urge even the most devoted of Harry's supporters against following Hagrid's lead. 'Support Harry Potter' parties are unwise in the present climate."_

"_Indeed they are, Romulus," said Lee, "so we suggest that you continue to show your devotion to the man with the lightning scar by listening to _Potterwatch_! And now let's move to news concerning the wizard who is proving just as elusive as Harry Potter. We like to refer to him as the Chief Death Eater, and here to give his views on some of the more insane rumors circulating about him, I'd like to introduce a new correspondent: Rodent."_

After a brief argument. Obviously the aforementioned 'Rodent' had not been satisfied by his nickname, the Weasley twin went on to say,

"There have been several sightings of You-Know-Who throughout Britain, although if we are to believe all of these sightings, we'd probably have a good nineteen You-Know-Whos running around the place. We have also received some disturbing news from foreign Ministries of Magic, claiming that they have sighted the dark wizard abroad in their own countries. The Japanese and Egyptian ministries especially are worried about this case. Apparently there have been many Death Eater sightings in their respective countries, and even once or twice, You-Know-Who himself. What he is doing in places halfway across the world from here, however, is still a mystery…"

Lee went on to report some more Death Eater-influenced Ministry activities, but none of the Item-wielders were really listening anymore. They sat in uneasy silence at one side of the tent, each absorbed in their own thoughts. Had they really left that much of an impression when they hightailed from that pub a few days ago? Why else would the Death Eaters be searching their home countries? Were their relatives alright? Finally, Yami asked a question that everybody had been thinking.

"Um…Harry…are their any…dark spells, that, well, Death Eater's use to hurt people? Because the only ones we've seen you guys use seem pretty harmless…"

The Golden Trio glanced at each other. Ron spoke up.

"Well, there are three really, really, bad spells. The Unforgivable curses, use of any one of them can land you in prison for a lifetime."

"And what exactly do these curses do?" Bakura asked, catching on to Yami's drift.

"The Imperius Curse controls people's minds. The Cruciatus Curse is used to torture people, and the Killing Curse kills people, obviously," Hermione explained. "None of these curses can be blocked in the normal way, so unless you dodge the spell, you can't repel it. It's just not possible."

"Is the Killing Curse the only curse that kills people?" Yami questioned. The students looked at each other, confused. Why were they asking this?

"Well, yes. You could of course set someone on fire with a spell, but it doesn't guarantee that the person's going to die. Dark wizards generally prefer Avada Kedavra," Hermione said hesitantly.

"Why do you want to know this?" Harry asked suspiciously. The foreigners glanced at each other uncomfortably.

"Is there really _no way at all_ to block one of these curses?" Yugi asked. The wizards (and witch) shook their heads, until Ron said,

"Well, Harry here survived it when he was a baby, no one knows how. Nearly killed You-Know-Who, too. That's why he's out to get Harry."

Malik groaned, and Bakura's head connected with the edge of one of the bunks. The Brits looked at them, bemused. "Is there something wrong?" Hermione asked.

Marik scratched his head somewhat sheepishly. "Well, uh, the thing is, a few days ago we kind of stumbled into a pub called the Leaky Cauldron. Really shabby place, if you ask me. Anyways, the shrimp here went up to the bartender and asked for directions to the nearest hotel. For some reason, this made a bunch of cloaked freaks in the pub stand up and start badmouthing us and a few of them shot some kind of green light at us. Yami here blocked it with, um, Shadow Magic, and it rebounded and hit them instead. They all died, so I guess it was the Killing Curse you were talking about…and well…after that we made a break for it, after trapping the other hooded freaks in…um…a barrier. They must have told their boss about it."

Harry, Ron, and Hermione stared at them in disbelief. Ryou shuffled his feet.

"So…I take it that was not supposed to happen?"

"Nope," Harry confirmed. His mind was whirling. How had these teens not only blocked the curse, but reflected it right back? This Shadow Magic of theirs must be REALLY powerful.

"Damn," Yami cursed. "Now they must be trying to trace us back home! That's why the Death Eaters are all over Egypt and Japan!"

The Golden Trio stared at them in astonishment. Looks like they weren't the only ones being hunted down anymore!

* * *

The figure at his feet writhed in pain, letting out bloodcurdling screams. Tom Riddle scowled at the man's weakness.

"Get up, Nott."

The man shakily got up and knelt at his master's feet.

"Have you or have you not found out anything about the mysterious teens at the Leaky Cauldron?"

"M-my lord, they are currently permanent residents in Domino City, Japan. T-their power is extremely powerful and rare, and we have managed to trace its roots to Ancient Egypt."

"What power is this?"

"S-shadow Magic, my lord."

Lord Voldemort's eyes widened. Shadow Magic? Magic so powerful had the power to destroy his anchors to immortality! He must get his hands on it, lest Potter and his friends find them first.

"Is there any chance that I could claim this power?"

"According to legend, only the chosen ones of the era can wield its magic. The power is channeled through seven magical items, from what we have found out, but as of yet we do not know what these items look like. Most evidence of this has been erased from history, after all."

"So there is no way that I myself may use it?"

"N-no, I'm afraid not, my lord. Anyone other than a chosen one trying to wield the Shadows will die a painful death. Or at least, that's what the scriptures say."

"Very well. If I can't have this power for myself, I will either have to recruit it or destroy it. Do everything in your power to find these teenagers, and bring them to me _alive_. We'll see if they are smart enough to _cooperate_."

"Y-yes, my lord."

"You may go. Call in Rudolphus for me."

The man hastily scrambled out of the room, and in a few moments a second man came in and crouched at Voldemort's feet.

"Have you carried out my request?"

"Y-yes, my lord. It took some work, but Yaxley has managed to put a Taboo on your name. Now anyone who dares to say it will be found immediately."

"Excellent. You have done well. Whoever with the gall to say _my_ name must be either Potter or the Order, making our search for them much easier. You may go."

The man bowed and left. Tom Marvolo Riddle paced the floor of his room. Potter, pesky little Harry Potter. Skipping Hogwarts was wise of you. What are you up to now?

* * *

The duelists and former Hogwarts students had moved locations once again. They now camped by a river bank, next to some remote, unnamed forest.

One night, the Japanese teenagers had run off somewhere to play a game of Duel Monsters where there was more room, and Harry and co were left behind in the tent, as they hadn't felt like watching.

"So, what do you think of the freaks?" Ron asked nonchalantly. Hermione kicked him in the shin for his obvious rudeness.

"I think they're alright. They could be a big help to us in the future, especially when destroying the Horcruxes. Although I think I've said that before," Harry said. Ron and Hermione nodded.

"I wonder what You-Know-Who is doing now?" Ron muttered. Hermione hesitantly put a hand on his shoulder, comforting him. Harry smirked. They just couldn't see what was right in front of them, could they?

"Well, whatever V-Voldemort is doing, he's definitely laying low right now," Hermione said reassuringly. They sat there in silence for a few moments, until…

CRACK!!!

A series of cracks sounded around their tent, and loud voices were heard. Harry, Ron, and Hermione jumped up in fright.

"Come out, come out now you mudbloods! We know you're there!"

A large hand suddenly thrust into the tent, catching Ron on his collar, and began dragging him out. Hermione and Harry soon followed. They were thrown facedown on the ground, and were soon bound together with another boy. The boy gave a squeak of recognition.

"Harry?"

Harry looked up in surprise. "Dean? Is that you?"

The boy nodded. "What the bloody hell are you doing here? Do you know what it'll mean for You-Know-Who if they get you?"

"Well, they've already gotten me, haven't they?" Harry asked wryly. He felt a hand grasp his shoulder tightly, nails digging into his flesh. He hissed in pain, and a hoarse voice spoke in his ear.

"Well, well, what do we have here? Harry Potter? You know we'll be rewarded greatly for you and your wand," the voice said with a cackle. Harry's breath hitched. Suddenly, another, slower voice spoke up.

"Look here, Greyback. The brats had this fancy sword with 'em!"

Fenrir Greyback inspected the sword with keen eye. "This looks like it could fetch a few Galleons. Hold onto it." The werewolf turned back to the captives.

"Since we have Potter, might as well take y'all to Malfoy Manor now, eh?"

Harry felt himself being picked up and slung over someone's shoulder. Then, with a crack, they were gone.

* * *

The Japanese/Egyptian duelists returned to the campsite in fairly high spirits (except Bakura, who was still grumbling about losing to Yami). When they reached the riverbank, however, they immediately sensed that something was not right. Entering the wizarding students' tent, they found no one. Yugi, Malik, and Ryou searched the trees around the camp, and their darks even searched across the river. No luck.

"Hey, Pharaoh, come look at this!"

Yami went over to Bakura, a questioning look in his eyes. Bakura pointed to the ground.

"Foot prints. A lot of them. Looks like there was some kind of scuffle, and here it looks like someone was dragged forcibly from the tent. Looks like the Death Eaters found Potter."

Yugi's already wide eyes widened even more. "Oh no! Harry-tachi could be in big trouble! We have to help them!" The other hikaris nodded solemnly. Yami turned to Bakura.

"Can you use your Ring to find them?"

"Possibly. It only works if I ask it to find something specific though. Hmmm…let's see. How about this: Millennium Ring, find the Sword of Godric Gryffindor!"

At his friends' questioning looks, Bakura said, "What? It has very powerful magical residue on it, not to mention the added magic of that giant snake venom they mentioned. I noticed it wasn't in the tent, which must means they have it with them." The others nodded, showing that they understood.

The little points hanging off the Millennium Ring jiggled, before shooting up and pointing due East. Bakura began to move, then stopped. Turning around, he said,

"We're less likely to be noticed if our group was smaller. Yugi, Ryou, Malik, why don't you let us yamis take over for the rescue?"

Yugi and Ryou agreed, and so did Malik, although slightly more reluctant. The lights and darks merged together, and soon only the three darks were standing on the riverbank. Bakura looked around

"Ready everyone? Well, come on, we've got some brats to rescue!"

* * *

Harry, Ron, and Hermione were brought before none other than Bellatrix Lestrange, who was almost hysterical with joy at seeing them. Cackling, she congratulated the Snatchers, before returning to the trio.

"Well well well, Harry Potter, looks like we've finally caught you. Where have you been all these months, hmmm?" Suddenly, however, her eyes flashed somewhere over Harry's shoulder, and her eyes widened. "No!"

Hurrying over to the Snatcher with the sword, she yanked it out of his hands.

"Where did you get this?" she snarled. The Snatcher glared at her.

"I reckon it's mine, lady, I found it in their tent!"

"_Crucio!_"

The Snatcher fell to the ground, writhing. Turning to Greyback, she barked at him to get out, and he hastily obeyed, not wanting to get caught in the dark witch's tantrum. The other two Snatchers followed quickly after him.

"Sister, whatever is the matter with you?" Narcissa Malfoy entered the room, with Draco following close behind. The latter's eyes widened when he caught sight of Harry and his friends. Harry glared back.

"The Snatchers found Potter, but for some reason they had this sword with them!" Bellatrix said shrilly. Narcissa's eyebrows rose.

"What's your point?"

"My point is the Dark Lord must not know what they have this sword! I don't know how they got their filthy mudblood hands on it, but it's supposed to be in my Gringotts vault!"

Narcissa's eyebrows only rose higher. "Well then, I'll let you deal with it. So I take it you're not calling the Dark Lord just yet?"

"Of course not! We have to get this back to Gringotts first!"

"Well then, I'll just leave things to you," Narcissa said coolly. "I much prefer watching, anyways. Draco, you may return to your room if you wish."

Draco only shook his head, eyes still on his former classmates. Narcissa didn't object, and sat down on the elegant sofa that took up part of the side wall, as her sister tried to contact Gringott's goblins through Floo.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione shared worried, hopeless looks. Was this the end?

* * *

Three pairs of eyes, one crimson, one russet, and the last a dangerous lavender, peered out of the bushes surrounding the large mansion. They had used Yami's Curse of Dragon to fly wherever the Ring pointed them, and this was where they ended up.

"Bloody hell, look at the size of this place," Bakura commented, as he stood up, brushing off his sleeves. His 'partners in crime' followed suit.

"Well, at least we know that Harry-tachi is inside," Yami said.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go!" Marik whined.

Stealthily, they crossed the rather large courtyard, being careful to avoid the albino peacocks. After all, you never knew. Looking up at the tall and obviously bolted oak doors, Yami suggested,

"Let's go in through the roof."

Bakura and Marik stared at him. "That was actually a good idea for once, Pharaoh! Or are you just trying to make an entrance?"

Yami smirked. "A little of both, I guess. Come on." Summoning Dark Magician, he hopped onto his back, letting the monster carry him up. Bakura and Marik did the same thing with Dark Necrofear and Thunder Dragon (don't ask, I don't know Marik's deck that well). Landing almost catlike on the shingles, the three dark spirits crept slowly towards the large dome shaped skylight in the center of the roof, from where a bright golden glow was emanating.

Looking down, they saw Harry, Ron, Hermione, and another dark skinned boy they didn't know, bound and gagged in the middle of the floor. Pacing the room in front of them, was a dark haired and slightly insane looking woman in a dark robe. Another lady, this one with platinum blond hair, was sitting stiffly on the couch against the wall, while a boy, looking to be her son, stood to the side. The dark-haired woman seemed to be talking and gesturing dramatically to either herself, or the other woman, though the latter did not give any implication that she heard her.

Suddenly, a bright green fire ignited in the fireplace. A short and very wrinkled Goblin hopped out of it, and went up to the dark haired woman. She seemed to be unusually happy about the goblin's appearance, and handed him the ruby-studded sword of Godric Gryffindor. The yamis saw their friends' eyes widen in horror. Yami straightened.

"Well, I think this has gone on long enough!"

* * *

Harry, Ron, and Hermione watched in horror and dismay as their only hope for destroying the Horcruxes was carried away by the Gringotts goblin. Bellatrix gave a barely audible sigh of relief, before turning back to her captives, grinning evilly.

"Now that that's taken care of, it's time to say good-bye!" she cackled, raising her left forearm so that she may press a finger to the Dark Mark. Before she could lift a finger, however, a loud crash sounded from above, and large shards of glass rained down upon the witches and wizards in the room. Narcissa shrieked and cast a spell to make the shards slow down, and Draco backed up against the wall, eyes wide.

"Hell-ooooooo, mortals!" a sinister voice echoed down from the now non-existent glass ceiling. Harry, Ron, and Hermione gasped in recognition. _Bakura!_

Bellatrix Lestrange seemed to inflate with anger. "Who goes there? Show yourself!"

"As you wish!" cackled a second voice. Three dark figures then leapt from the skylight and dropped, landing catlike on the ground. The figures straightened, revealing them to be Yami, Bakura, and Marik, in all their leather-clad splendor. Bellatrix seemed for once lost for words, as she gaped at the newcomers like a fish out of water. Narcissa Malfoy suddenly stood up from her seat.

"It's you! You're the ones the Dark Lord is after! The ones who reflected the Killing Curse!"

Bellatrix seemed to snap out of her daze. "They are? How do you know that Cissy?"

"Because I've heard descriptions from other Death Eaters. Wild, unnaturally colored hair and eyes, a foreign look about them as well."

"Ah, so I guess we'll kill two birds with one stone," Bellatrix said, grinning. "You boys were foolish to barge in here uninvited."

The three darks stared at the woman for a few moments, before dissolving into full-blown laughter. Marik and Bakura cackled insanely, as Yami simply chuckled darkly. Suddenly, all three looked up at once, their eyes shining with a sinister and not-quite-sane light that made even Bellatrix step back a few steps. Three pairs of lips curled upwards into three identical smirks.

"Let's play a game."

* * *

**Dark Soul: **Aaaahhh!!! Finally done! This chapter took me like three whole days! Because a) dad's cut off my internet time, so now he won't connect the internet until he gets home, which is at like six, b) I tried to make the chapter longer, so this one is about as long as my first oneshot and c) I tried not to make this story move along too fast…but I don't think I succeeded in doing that very well. Also...I don't think this chapter turned out very well...

**Ron: **Ah well, who cares?

**Hermione: **_**-**__wacks Ron on head- _The _readers _numbskull!

**Harry: **Please review! Reviewers will get Yugi plushies, along with a dress up outfit of their choice! Anything ranging from bondage to dresses!

**Yugi: **O_O I'M NOT A GIRL!!!

**Dark Soul:** Are you kidding? Have you SEEN the picture of you in a bikini? You can't even tell that you're a guy!

**Yugi: **_-blush-_

**Yami: **_**-**__snicker-_ Hey, authoress, do you think _I_ could have one of those plushies?

**Yugi: **x_x


	4. Let's Play a Game

**Darkie: **_-puffs out chest importantly- _Alright peoples, this is it! Time to update this Ra-forsaken story with a Shadow Game of my own (not really) creation!

**Yugi: **Yay! Finally another chapter!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or Harry Potter. Part of the idea for the Shadow Game came from my friend Sazzy, she's been a great help to me! ^_^

This chapter is brought to you by California State STAR Testing!!! Because IT SUX BALLS!

Also, special thanks to Sazzy for looking over this for me! ^_^

**Also, if you have any questions or comments, you may email me at the link on my profile page. Thx! **

* * *

**Previously, on HPSC: (and my lame way of taking up more space)**

_Harry, Ron, and Hermione watched in horror and dismay as their only hope for destroying the Horcruxes was carried away by the Gringotts goblin. Bellatrix gave a barely audible sigh of relief, before turning back to her captives, grinning evilly._

"_Now that that's taken care of, it's time to say good-bye!" she cackled, raising her left forearm so that she may press a finger to the Dark Mark. Before she could lift a finger, however, a loud crash sounded from above, and large shards of glass rained down upon the witches and wizards in the room. Narcissa shrieked and cast a spell to make the shards slow down, and Draco backed up against the wall, eyes wide._

"_Hell-ooooooo, mortals!" a sinister voice echoed down from the now non-existent glass ceiling. Harry, Ron, and Hermione gasped in recognition. __Bakura!_

_Bellatrix Lestrange seemed to inflate with anger. "Who goes there? Show yourself!"_

"_As you wish!" cackled a second voice. Three dark figures then leapt from the skylight and dropped, landing catlike on the ground. The figures straightened, revealing them to be Yami, Bakura, and Marik, in all their leather-clad splendor. Bellatrix seemed for once lost for words, as she gaped at the newcomers like a fish out of water. Narcissa Malfoy suddenly stood up from her seat._

"_It's you! You're the ones the Dark Lord is after! The ones who reflected the Killing Curse!"_

_Bellatrix seemed to snap out of her daze. "They are? How do you know that Cissy?"_

"_Because I've heard descriptions from other Death Eaters. Wild, unnaturally colored hair and eyes, a foreign look about them as well."_

"_Ah, so I guess we'll kill two birds with one stone," Bellatrix said, grinning. "You boys were foolish to barge in here uninvited."_

_The three darks stared at the woman for a few moments, before dissolving into full-blown laughter. Marik and Bakura cackled insanely, as Yami simply chuckled darkly. Suddenly, all three looked up at once, their eyes shining with a sinister and not-quite-sane light that made even Bellatrix step back a few steps. Three pairs of lips curled upwards into three identical smirks._

"_Let's play a game."

* * *

_

**And now, the conclusion:**

Bellatrix's eyes almost bulged out of her sockets at this seemingly foolish challenge. How dare these filthy muggles challenge her to one of their childish games? Her first instinct was to refuse and challenge them to a duel of her own, but when she caught sight of the rather fearsome look on their faces, she decided to…compromise.

"Ah, but three against one is hardly fair, is it?" she asked, trying to sound casually deadly. The yamis, unbeknownst to her, saw right through her charade.

::Pharaoh, can I have a go at her, can I, please?::

((No way, Keeper, _I _want to play her!))

//Quiet, both of you! We'll let her decide…//

The other two fell silent at this, and Yami fixed a crimson gaze on the female Death Eater.

"You're right. Three against one is hardly fair. How about you _choose _which one of us you play? Be warned though, we each have different, er, _tastes, _in games. Who you choose will effect the style and type of game you play."

Bellatrix narrowed her eyes in thought. She immediately ruled out the tall, tan one. He looked slightly insane to her, and something told her that whatever 'game' he came up with would not be pleasant. Her eyes swivelled to the albino boy, but upon catching the excited and deadly gleam of anticipation in his eyes, she quickly turned away. This left the shortest member of the group. He looked least threatening out of all of them, albeit with the craziest hair. His red eyes were half lidded with boredom, as he shuffled through some kind of deck of cards.

"I choose…you," she pointed at the slightly built teen, and he looked up at her with an almost bored expression on his face. His companions uttered noises of disappointment and annoyance. Bellatrix could've sworn she heard the albino mutter something about a 'stuck up pharaoh'.

"Very well, I accept. Shall we begin then?" the boy asked. Without waiting for a reply he closed his eyes and spread out his arms above his head, as if making a gesture to the heavens. He began to chant something in a language forgotten by time itself, and soon the room was engulfed in shadow. Harry, Ron, and Hermione could barely restrain their shock. Especially Hermione; her eyes gazed around them in wonder, excitement at finally being able to witness something found only in the oldest of dusty volumes showing in her eyes. So this was the fabled Shadow Realm! The realm with power enough to destroy all of Voldemort's Horcruxes. Who would've thought it'd be so…so…no words could describe it.

Harry looked at his surroundings with a keen eye. He didn't like this place. It was too dark, too shadowy. But then again, it _was _called the Shadow Realm. Still, Harry didn't trust this place, if a place could even be trustworthy. The purple and black mists swirled eerily around them, and the only things that the Boy Who Lived could make out from the gloom were the figures of the yamis, Bellatrix and his friends. The Malfoys were nowhere to be seen. There was no visible floor, but yet they seemed to be standing (or in Harry's case, sitting) on _some _sort of surface, otherwise they'd just fall through the swirling fog for who knows how long. Out of the corner of his eye, Harry thought he detected movement, but when he turned around, nothing was there.

This place was beginning to creep him out. Just as his mind reached this conclusion, however, the scene began to change. The shadows swirled and twisted grotesquely, and started to fade. When they finally did, however, they were no longer standing in the Malfoy Manor. Or were they? It was hard to tell with all the shadows.

They were currently in some sort of metal room. The roof, walls, and floor were all made of solid, stainless steel. When Harry looked closer, he could see small openings in the walls, perhaps enough for a wand or something slightly thicker to poke through. Suddenly, however, the floor beneath him shifted, and Ron, Hermione, and Dean all cried out in alarm as the floor where they were sitting on, still bound, rose off the floor and high into the air. The ropes disintegrated and Harry rubbed his sore arms, peering over the edge of the piece of metal at the scene unfolding below them. Glancing to the side, he saw that Bakura and Marik, too, had been moved out of harm's way, though they were looking distinctly put out about it. Yami's voice reverberated around the enclosed space.

"This is a game of wit and speed, Bellatrix Lestrange," he said calmly. "See those little things protruding from the holes in the walls? They will be shooting spells at us, while we try to dodge them. Some may be the deadly Avada Kedavra; others may just be a harmless Aguamenti. You won't be able to tell until it's too late. The goal is to last as long as possible without getting hit by a potentially fatal spell. As long as you stay up and don't collapse, you're still in the game. If you fall, however, you lose, and will have to face a Penalty Game."

Bellatrix thought for a moment. It sounded simple enough, and with her wand she could easily overpower the boy. He thought he could scare her with thoughts of Penalty Games and rules? Well, he had certainly underestimated Bellatrix Lestrange. As if he were able to read her mind, Yami smirked.

"One more thing: you may not use your magic to defend yourself. You must rely on speed and agility alone. In other words: _hand over your wand_."

Bellatrix's eyes widened at the thought of giving up her only weapon of defense. But then again, who knew what the kid might do in order to take it? Scowling, she took out her wand from her sleeve and tossed it aside. It rolled away into the far corner of the room.

"Game start."

Immediately beams of light began shooting in all directions. Yami leaped back just in time to dodge a blue jet that ended up spraying water onto the opposite wall. Bellatrix stumbled back as a purple light missed her by mere centimeters.

"Damn, I hate to admit it, but the Pharaoh sure can cook up a Shadow Game!" Marik commented, whistling lowly. Bakura grunted in agreement. Ron, Hermione, and Dean simply looked on, mesmerized.

Yami cursed as he was hit by a mild disarming spell that made him stumble almost directly into the path of another curse. He had to suck in his already flat stomach to avoid it. Across the room, Bellatrix wasn't faring much better as she was hindered by her long witch's robes.

As of yet, none of them have been hit by a fatal curse.

"What happens if Yami loses?" Hermione whispered fearfully. "He could get hit!"

Bakura, having heard the question, snorted. "Yami? Lose a game? This is the _King _of Games you're talking about! He won't lose."

The certainty in the albino's voice reassured Dean and Ron, but Hermione and Harry were still uncertain of Yami's success. They turned back to the game. Bellatrix was currently making her way to one of the corners, and Yami was just dodging spells in the middle of the room, looking completely at ease. Harry's gaze followed Bellatrix. His eyes widened. She was trying to get to her wand!

"Look ou-!"

But it was too late. Bellatrix had already gotten hold of her wand and pointed it at Yami.

"_Crucio!_"

Yami turned at the sound of the incantation, eyes widening. He didn't have time to prepare as the spell hit him straight on, and he doubled over in pain. His breath came in short gasps; it felt as though every nerve ending in his body was on fire. Sweat rolled down his forehead from his effort to stay upright. If he hit the ground now, it was all over. That damn cheating Death Eater.

"No!" Hermione cried out, horrified. Ron and Dean stared with mouths agape at the struggling form of Yami, as Bakura and Marik threw every insult they knew at the cheating witch.

Bellatrix strode smugly towards the helpless king, blocking the attacking spells with her wand, and dodging those she couldn't.

"Did you really think that you could defeat _me_, filthy muggle?" she asked tauntingly, pacing around the gasping teen like a tigress about to pounce on her prey. Yami only glared at Bellatrix, crimson eyes bright scarlet with pain and anger.

Yami clutched at his chest while he fought for breath. Ra, this pain was _excruciating_. Far worse than Yami had thought it would be. He could feel his composure slipping, but he couldn't fall, not now. He had to win this game.

"Think _–gasp- _your so _–gasp- _tough, are ya?" he panted out, still struggling to stay upright. Bellatrix frowned for a moment, before smirking.

"I must say I'm impressed, muggle. Any normal person would be begging for mercy by now. The Dark Lord was right in saying you were special," she replied, undaunted by the ruby glare.

Yami chuckled, trying not to wince at the added pain the movement had caused. "You cheated," he stated matter-of-factly. Bellatrix rolled her eyes.

"What of it, boy?"

"You're not allowed to," Yami replied casually, or as casually as he could reply while feeling like he was being cut open from the inside. Above his head, Bakura snorted.

"So much for stating the obvious, Pharaoh!" he called down. Said ruler looked up at him in annoyance, his expression clearly telling the Tomb Robber to stay out of it. He and the Death Eater seemed to be standing in an invisible barrier that was fending off the spells thrown at them. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on the way you look at it), none of the Unforgivable Curses had been fired their way.

"Like I care," Bellatrix retorted to Yami's earlier question. "You can't think of everything as a game, boy. This is a matter of life and death. Unfortunately for you, this will end in death. _Crucio!_"

Yami staggered as the previously fading pain was renewed tenfold, and he clenched his teeth to prevent from crying out. He had to find a way to stop this, and soon. Glancing around the room through narrowed eyes, he searched for a way out. He caught sight of a flash of light out of the corner of his eye. Perfect. At just the right moment, he stumbled ungracefully forward, and pushed a surprised Bellatrix backwards, right into the path of the spell, which, incidentally, was the silvery-white color of the Cruciatus. She screamed out in pain, falling to the ground, thus ending the game. The beams of light stopped firing, and Yami fell to the ground, gasping, having been finally released from the curse when Bellatrix lost focus. The other two yamis and the Hogwarts students were lowered to the ground, and immediately ran over to the duo.

"Are you alright, Yami?" Hermione asked worriedly. Yami nodded, his breathing still heavy, but steadying. He stood up slowly, clinging to Marik for support. For once the dark Tomb Keeper didn't protest.

"I think she's unconscious!" Bakura called from his place kneeling by Bellatrix, who did indeed look rather dead. Only the rapid rise and fall of her chest indicated that she was alive. The room was slowly re-engulfed in shadow, before it cleared again, revealing them once again in the Malfoy Manor. Narcissa had brought over her husband, and Lucius was now glaring at the teens hatefully, and Harry realized that they probably had never even left the manor, but were merely hidden out of sight. All the rest had simply been in an illusion. Narcissa emitted a squeak of horror at her sister's unconscious state, and Draco shuffled closer to the corner.

"What have you down to my sister-in-law?" Lucius asked harshly. Bakura looked at him, almost bored.

"What does it look like? She kidnapped the Hogwarts brats, so we decided to rescue them. She didn't like that, so obviously we had to get her out of the way," he explained, as if this was a normal occurrence in his life (which, Harry realized, it probably was). Cold gray eyes narrowed, then widened with an 'oomf!' as Bakura tossed the unconscious Bellatrix at Lucius, who almost fell over from the impact.

"You know Pharaoh, you still haven't given her a penalty game," Bakura said, turning to Yami. Yami only closed his eyes tiredly; he really didn't have the strength to dish out a punishment just now.

"Can I do it?" Marik asked eagerly, bouncing up and down, almost dislodging Yami's arm from around his shoulders. Bakura glared at him.

"You should know as well as I do that no one but the initiator of the game can decide the penalty. It won't work," he replied scathingly, and then he sighed. "You'd better keep an eye on your dear sister, because next time we see her, Yami'll have to punish her for cheating."

"Why you insolent--!"

_CRACK! _

Wide eyes looked up at the cause of the crack, only to widen further at the sight of a hat-adorned elf hanging from the chandelier. Harry's eyes widened. _Dobby!_

"Harry Potter sir! Dobby has come to help!" the elf squeaked. "We must hurry!"

Using some of his elf magic, Dobby blasted his former masters to the other side of the room, effectively knocking them out cold. He then hurried over to Harry, Ron, and Hermione, who stared at him in amazement.

"Dobby? What are you doing here?" Harry blurted out. Dobby shook his head, large ears flapping.

"Now is not the time, Harry Potter sir! We is got to get out of here before they wake up!" without waiting for a reply, the house elf grabbed Harry and Ron on the wrist, and turned on the spot, disappearing with a loud CRACK. Bakura and Marik gave yells of surprise, but before they could even manage to comprehend what they were seeing, the elf was back, this time taking hold of Hermione and Dean. He soon returned once again, waving his hands in the yamis' faces. They backed away warily. Dobby rolled his large tennis-ball-sized eyes in frustration.

"Dobby will not hurt sirs! He is taking them to Shell Cottage, Ron sir's brother's home! We must hurry before the Malfoys wake up!" the elf cried frantically, jumping up and down in his haste. Yami, Bakura, and Marik looked at each other, Yami still clinging to Marik's arm.

"Ah well, it can't hurt. We can overpower him if he tries something," Marik said, and they took hold of Dobby's small hands, before disappearing with a loud _crack_.

Darkness. That was the first thing that registered in Yami's still rather pained mind as their surroundings disappeared. He felt like he was being squeezed through an extremely narrow tube, and he tightened his grip on the unseen flesh of Marik's arm. After what seemed like an eternity, the tight feeling vanished, leaving the three gasping for air in front of a small, neat cottage.

* * *

Bill Weasley was worried. That was an understatement. Dobby the house elf had just brought Harry, Ron, Hermione, Dean, and three strange teenagers to his cottage. And the elf had disappeared again, claiming that there were more people in need at the manor. Sure enough, the small creature had reentered the cottage with a bewildered Luna Lovegood and Mr. Ollivander. Bill's house wasn't big enough for this, dammit!

The boy named Yami had been sent directly upstairs upon arrival; the guy looked dead beat, and Bill wasn't surprised. To have struggled through the Cruciatus Curse for nigh on five to ten minutes while carrying out a conversation with a Death Eater was no small feat. Ollivander, too, had seemed to have had his fair share of torture, and was put in a room next to Yami's.

Bill was no fool. He knew that the three teens were part of the group that Tom the bartender reported to have repelled the Killing Curse at his bar. The bigger question was: Why the hell were they with Harry Potter?

He had asked this very question while the Golden Trio of Gryffindors had just arrived, but only received a very short, blunt answer in return. It was obvious that they were hiding something about the teens, and Bill planned to find out what.

* * *

Yugi materialized next to Yami's bedside, and looked down sadly at his pale, drawn figure. Yami sure looked the worse for the wear; his normally caramel-colored skin was pale, and he had dark shadows under his eyes.

"Oh Yami…you risked so much…" Yugi whispered sadly, clutching his koi's hand. Yami chuckled weakly, the smile not quite reaching his eyes.

"You sound as if I just risked my life or soul or something," he joked.

"But you did! Who knew what Bellatrix could've done to you? This new magic is a lot more powerful than we had thought," Yugi said, grip tightening on Yami's hand. "I could tell that you were in pain; why didn't you open the mind link and let me take some? It would've made things so much easier."

Yami's gaze hardened. "I could never do that, Yugi. When I felt the pain, I knew you wouldn't be able to handle it, so I took it all on myself."

"So you think I'm too weak? Is that it! Why don't you have faith in me, Yami?" Yugi cried, tears pooling at the corners of his eyes, not so much out of hurt as out of worry for his darkness.

"That's not what I meant, Aibou," Yami said quietly, averting his gaze. "I just…didn't want you to get hurt. Gomen-nasai."

Yugi's expression softened. He could never stay mad at his darkness for long, and who was he to scold him for trying to protect him? Yugi knew he was weaker than Yami physically; if the Cruciatus Curse had taken such a toll on the _pharaoh_, who knew what it would've done to _him_? He brushed away a stray bang from the dark's face, and the latter sighed contentedly.

"Yugi?"

Yugi turned to see Ryou's head poking out from behind the door, a hesitant expression on his face. He smiled and beckoned him to come in, and Ryou complied quickly, Malik following after. Apparently Marik and Bakura had decided to retreat to their soulrooms. Yami had not asked the same of Yugi, fearing that the physical pain on the body would be too much for him. Besides, as far as Harry, Ron, and Hermione knew, only the yamis were present with them.

The four sat their in silence for a few moments, none knowing what to say. Soon, another knock on the door was heard. Yugi, quickly disappeared back into the puzzle, and Ryou and Malik switched with Bakura and Marik. In entered Harry, Ron, and Hermione, looking around warily. Seeing that they weren't interrupting anything, they quickly took a seat, relieved to be away from Bill's probing questions and Fleur's accusing stares. An uncomfortable silence engulfed them.

"Where are Yugi, Ryou, and Malik?" Hermione asked tentatively. Bakura's eyes narrowed, and he made a gesture with his hand at the window.

"Oh, you know. Here and there," he said vaguely. Hermione looked as if she was about to ask exactly where 'here and there' was, but was stopped by a warning glance from Marik. Silence once again befell them. Finally, Harry could take it any longer.

"Sooo…how did you do it?" Harry asked. Hermione shot him a must-you-bring-that-up-already look, but he ignored her. Yami looked confused.

"Do what?" he asked.

"Resist the Cruciatus Curse, of course!" Ron blurted out. "You know the last people who have been exposed that long are now in St. Mungo's Hospital, in the Permanent Spell Damage ward?"

Inside his soulroom, Yugi paled, having heard Ron's outburst. Permanent Spell Damage? Then Yami really _had _been in danger! Yami, feeling his distress, sent comforting signals through the mindlink, trying to calm down his hikari.

"What happened to them?" he asked tentatively. Hermione shook her head sadly.

"They were driven insane by the curse, by Bellatrix Lestrange herself, incidentally," she answered. A mental gasp sounded in his head, and Yami tried to soothe the once-again panicking Yugi.

//Shh…Little One, it's alright. I'm fine.//

/B-but, that could've been _you _being carted off to the hospital! In _Permanent _Spell Damage!/ Yugi was bordering on hysterical. Yami once again sent soothing feelings through the mind link, but to no avail.

As Yami was busy trying to calm the 'voice inside his head', Bakura and Marik tried to distract the others from his blank stare, hiding their own horror at what they heard. Yami could've been driven insane? That was new to them. Not that they cared about his wellbeing, per se, but they couldn't exactly piss off a Pharaoh who wasn't mentally stable.

"Um…so how are these people now?" Marik asked. Harry averted his gaze.

"We…aren't really allowed to talk about it…you see, they were the parents of a classmate of ours…but last time he visited them, they gave him a bubblegum wrapper. And from what we gathered, they've been giving him wrappers for the past decade or more."

Bakura resisted the urge to snort. He could totally imagine the Pharaoh doing that with Yugi…but then, once he thought about it, the image was kind of depressing. After a while, the wizards and witch excused themselves to go talk to that other old man who came in with the dreamy blonde.

Everybody let out a relieved sigh, and the hikaris materialized, in spirit form this time, lest they were interrupted unexpectedly. Yugi had tears in his eyes as he gazed sadly at Yami, who resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

"Yugi, for the last time, I'm fine. Can we just forget about all of this? Stop worrying about what _could've _happened, and focus on what _did _happen, which was nothing!" he cried out exasperatedly, making everybody present jump. The Pharaoh was rarely so blunt.

The truth was, Yami didn't like being fussed over like a kid with a cold. It made him feel weak. And he didn't like feeling weak. Seething, Yami turned around in bed so that he was facing away from the others; a childish antic, but as long as it worked, Yami was okay. It did. The others refrained from commenting on the curse from then on. Instead, they chatted about this and that, the topic straying over to Duel Monsters a few times. Yami remained silent the whole time, letting the others assume that he was asleep.

* * *

After Harry and the others had had a talk with Mr. Ollivander, Harry was feeling rather glum about his wand. But he pushed these worries aside, however, as he began thinking over his latest Horcrux scheme. He had put everything together: Bellatrix's panic when thinking that Harry had been in her vault had been over the top. Which must mean…a Horcrux might be hidden at Gringotts!

But how to get it? At this Harry was stumped. The Lestranges were surely an old, pureblood family, and their vault would be deep underground, where dragons were rumored to act as guards. Then he remembered the Shadow Casters…hadn't Bakura mentioned that he used to be a thief? A _King _of thieves? Harry knew close to nil on Ancient Egypt, but he _did _know that the tombs were often guarded with spells and curses from Ron and Hermione. And if Bakura could get past those…

He sprinted towards Yami's room, barely hearing Ron and Hermione's cries of surprise. Slamming open the door, he looked around at the surprised threesome, his gaze locking on Bakura.

"Bakura…I need your help."

* * *

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!"

Bakura's insane cackle echoed throughout the house and surrounding land. Luna and Dean, picking flowers, looked back at the house in bewilderment. Fleur, who was cooking, almost dropped her pot on the floor. Bill looked up from the _Daily Prophet_, a frown on his face. Ollivander was jolted from a peaceful slumber, and sat looking around wildly, relaxing when he realized that no one was in the room. However, Yami's room was a different story…

"Shut up, Tomb Robber."

Bakura's laughter finally receded, but he still had an evil smirk on his face that Yami didn't like. Harry himself was unnerved; he was beginning to doubt that asking for help had been a good idea.

"Robbing a bank? A _Wizard's _bank? Sounds fun!" Bakura exclaimed, licking his lips. "I haven't robbed anything in a long time, mostly because Ryou doesn't approve. But I'm sure that he'll let this one slide when he finds out that it's for a good cause. Hehe."

Ryou, still in spirit form at Bakura's side, slapped a hand to his forehead in exasperation. Some things never change…

"Speaking of Ryou, will they be coming anytime soon?" Ron asked. "I mean, and don't take this the wrong way, but you guys don't seem the type to like being separate from your…er…boyfriends."

Yami, Bakura, and Marik glanced at each other uneasily. Marik coughed slightly.

"Uh…they'll be here soon. We just didn't want them to get involved in anything dangerous, is all," he lied easily. The Hogwarts students seemed to deem this explanation acceptable.

"So, when do we start?" he asked eagerly, rubbing his hands together in anticipation. Yami glared at him.

"Not until I get out of this bed," he said sternly. Bakura glared at him.

"Says who?" he shot back.

"Well, _someone_ has to come with you to make sure you don't decide to rob anything else on a stupid whim and get yourself killed. And I doubt Marik will bother; most likely he'll join you," Yami replied scathingly. Bakura had no retort to that, and instead crossed his arms and sulked, muttering darkly about 'interfering pharaohs'.

"Well, Yami's right in a way," Hermione interjected. "We have to take time to think this out and prepare. Who knows what we'll need?"

"Psh, we won't need anything!" Bakura replied. "All I need is my Millennium Ring, and I'll be in and out of that bank within an hour!"

"Don't be stupid!" Hermione hissed. "Gringotts is _ancient_! There are tons of centuries-old curses and enchantments in the tunnels, many of which you've never seen before! And there are dragons!"

"Dragons, eh? Nothing any monster of mine can't handle," he scoffed. Harry's eyes narrowed in confusion. _His _monsters? What did he mean by that?

"Also," Bakura added. "Gringotts may be old, but I bet the tombs I've robbed are ten times older!"

Hermione had no objection to that. But in the end they still agreed to wait a few days until Yami got better and the hikaris 'arrived'.

* * *

The hikaris managed to stage their 'arrival' a few days later, and Yami, much to his glee, was finally deemed well enough to get out of bed. Bakura was almost jumping with anticipation; his old thieving instincts had returned full force, and his fingers were itching to just pick a lock.

Eventually though, after much 'unneeded preparation', as Bakura had put it, the three yamis, along with an invisibility-cloaked Harry, found themselves standing in front of the snow white Gringotts building. All three Shadow Casters were wearing black berets, making them look devilishly handsome, but that wasn't the point. They weren't going to risk being seen and recognized, as their looks weren't exactly 'normal'.

Bakura hurried up to the steps, only stopping to read the plaque engraved on the pristine glass doors:

_Enter stranger but take heed,_

_Of what awaits the sin of greed,_

_For those who take but do not earn,_

_Must pay most dearly in their turn,_

_So if you seek beneath our floors_

_A treasure that was never yours_

_Thief you have been warned, beware_

_Of finding more than treasure there._

Bakura scoffed. "Puh-lease, do they really think that a _poem_ can stop me?"

"Well, it seemed to work for just about everybody else," Marik stated matter-of-factly.

"Let's just get this over with already," Yami muttered. They made their way silently through the doors and into the lobby, where various witches and wizards were milling about, greatly outnumbering the goblins who worked at the bank. It just went to show how much the Ministry had taken over.

Bakura started heading off in a seemingly random direction, before Harry pulled him back.

"Where are you going? Do you even _know _the way to the Lestrange vault?" he whisper-asked. Bakura rolled his eyes, and gestured to his Millennium Ring, which was tugging at the rope on his neck, pointing towards one of the tunnels. _Oh._ They made their way carefully towards the tunnel in question.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going?" a goblin called out to them. "You need authorization to enter the tunnels!"

Bakura cursed and turned around, ready to throw a dagger at the pesky creature, but Marik was faster. He had grasped his Millennium Rod tightly, and with a barely audible glow, the goblin's eyes had gone blank.

"Now, little mind slave, why don't you kindly show us the way to the Lestrange vault?" he said softly. The goblin obeyed without hesitation, and led them to a free cart. They all clambered into the cart, and with jerk, it sped off

* * *

**To Be Continued…**

* * *

**Darkie:**O_O, oh my, I left a beta note in there! How stupid can I get? I TOOK IT OUT!!! After seeing like two reviews with the exact same sentence in it, I was like '...something's not right.' I really need to stop rushing...but hey, it's kind of hard if your parents are nagging at you to play piano JUST when you're about to do something like post a chapter or review or blah blah blah...I need medication, this is not good for my health.

Blah! That was an absolute HORROR to finish! I apologize if the Shadow Game was unsatisfactory, if you have any problems with it, blame Sazzy!!! _-points an accusing finger- _She gave me the shooting spells idea…I think…only I kind of…modified it…I was going to change it to include knives, since Yami seems to like that stuff (Ushio, various other fanfics), but I wanted it to be more 'wizard' ish, so there ya go! Yeah, I know it was really lame. And this time I sincerely believed the chapter sucked. Maybe I should of kept Sazzy's original idea instead of modifying it…sigh…

I'm so proud of myself! I remembered that Gringotts poem off the top of my head, WITHOUT looking at the book! xD

**Harry: **Please review! You'll get…um…uh…cyber wands!!! Just don't try to kill each other with them!

**REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I WILL NOW PUT THIS IN BOLD LETTERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! xDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD  
**


	5. Default Chapter

**Darkie: **Aaand, here it is, the long awaited fifth chapter of _Harry Potter and the Shadow Casters_!!! I just realized that after the break-in to Gringotts, they go to Hogwarts and have that huge battle, so in order to slow down the story a bit, I'm going to give you a little more insight to how things are going with Ginny, Neville, and Luna at Hogwarts! Well, technically only Neville is still at Hogwarts…but…ah poo, just read it!

Edit: 6/20/09 - I am an official dumbass. Remember in the ending notes I said I was going on vacation June 3rd to 14th? I lied. xD I meant July 3rd to 14th. D:

* * *

**The Burrow, outskirts of St. Ottery Catchpole **(A/N: I'm pretty sure its SOMETHING like that, but forgive me if I spelled it wrong or screwed up the name)

Ginny Weasley tucked a piece of her long, red hair behind her ear as she chopped potato slices for dinner. It had been a while since she had returned home for the Easter break. Her parents had blatantly refused to let her go back to school, not that she was complaining. Although she couldn't help but miss causing havoc for the Carrows and Snape.

One of the upsides of staying home, however, was that since Grimmauld Place had been discovered by the Death Eaters, the Order was forced to conduct their meetings here at the Burrow. Because of the seriousness of the war going on against You-Know-Who, even Ginny was allowed to attend the meetings alongside her brothers, just so she was prepared to fight back if the need arose. And she had heard some very interesting things indeed.

Apparently, not long after the break in at the Ministry (which everyone suspected to be the work of Harry, Ron, and Hermione themselves, for unknown reasons), six mysterious magical auras had been detected in London, near the vicinity of the Leaky Cauldron. Tom the bartender himself had informed the Order of six strange-looking teenagers which he claimed had not only blocked, but _reflected _the Avada Kedavra curse right back at the Death Eaters, and had run off after imprisoning the remaining wizards in a giant steel cage.

The adults had been greatly disturbed by this news, and Ginny knew why. Were these wizards, if that was what they were, friend or foe? Obviously, they were not Death Eaters, but that didn't mean they didn't pose a threat. This strange magic of theirs had caused quite a scare among the Order and the Ministry, or so her father had said.

Tom had also managed to extract his memory and had put it on display with a spell conducted by Remus. Ginny had to admit, the teens were an odd-looking bunch, with wild, multicolored hair and strangely-colored eyes. Upon closer inspection, Ginny could have sworn that one of them had _red _eyes, just like He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named!

But that was the least of Ginny's problems. She still hadn't heard from Harry. All that she knew was that Bill had contacted the Order, informing them that Harry, Ron, and Hermione had arrived at Shell Cottage, along with six odd-looking teens that Bill said were the same that had been spotted in London. This call had puzzled the Order, but Bill had told them that they had seemed friendly enough, and that one of them had been injured by the Cruciatus Curse, no doubt the work of one of the Death Eaters. The thing that worried Ginny the most, however, was that Harry had run off with three of the teens shortly after their arrival to do only God knows what, and Hermione and Ron had refused to divulge any information, along with the remaining three teens.

"If only I knew what he was up to," she murmured.

Later, she met up with Fred and George in their room, along with Charlie.

"So, Gin, what do you think old Harry's up to now?" Fred asked, lounging against the side of one of the beds. Ginny sighed desolately at the question.

"If only I knew, Fred. If only I knew," she murmured. Before anybody could answer, however, a surprised shout came from the kitchen. The four redheads immediately bolted down the stairs to see what was going on.

The sight that greeted them was not what they expected.

"Bill? Fleur? What are YOU doing here?"

* * *

**Room of Requirement, Hogwarts**

_Neville Longbottom sighed as he leaned his cheek on his hand. And to think that Defense Against the Dark Arts used to be my favorite subject, he thought wryly. Of course, that was before Defense Against the Dark Arts became just plain old Dark Arts. _

"_Longbottom, pay attention!"_

_Neville snapped out of his reverie as Amycus Carrow glared at him from the other side of the room. He noticed that he was at the head of the line for performing the Cruciatus Curse. Cursing silently to himself, he looked at his victim: a pale first year boy who looked as if he would rather be eating dragon dung than stay in this classroom. Neville's heart twisted at the sight. He was supposed to torture this kid?_

"_Well? What are you waiting for? Curse him!" Carrow snapped irritably. Neville raised his eyes to glare at him._

"_No."_

"_Pardon?" Carrow hissed, taking a menacing step forward. Neville raised his head higher._

"_No, I will not do it," he said, loud and clear for everyone to hear. The classroom fell silent. Many of the Gryffindors were gazing at Neville with admiration, and at Carrow with disgust, while the Slytherin's simply settled for glaring at him. _

"_This is my class, boy, and you will do as I say," Amycus hissed. Neville didn't say anything. He merely glared. Carrow let out a cry of rage and raised his wand. As he brought it down in a slashing motion, Neville felt a searing pain in his cheek. He put his hand to it, and felt sticky wetness on his fingers. Blood. _

"_Detention in my office tonight, boy," the Death Eater hissed, before the bell rang and class was dismissed. _

That had been exactly one week ago. The day after the detention, he had received a letter from his Grandma, stating that she was on the run from Death Eaters, and that she was proud of him. Neville had never felt more alive than when he had read the letter. Earning his grandmother's approval had been something he had dreamed of constantly, and now that he had it, he knew what he had to do. It was then that he packed his bags and left the dormitories, setting up camp in the Room of Requirement. Over time, more people had been coming in to keep him company, mostly members of the D.A., all seeking freedom from the Carrows' and Snape's wrath.

The sound of a door creaking open brought Neville out of his reminiscing. It was Aberforth, bringing over food from the Hog's Head. As Neville and the other's went over to meet him, they saw that the old man was looking slightly more harassed than usual, and that he was clutching a copy of the _Daily Prophet _in one hand.

After everyone had gotten their share of food, Aberforth didn't make a move to return to the pub. Instead, he cleared his throat, getting everybody's attention. He beckoned Neville over, and thrust the _Prophet_ into his hand.

Neville unfolded the newspaper carefully and scanned over the front page. He froze. Instead of the usual headlines of 'Wanted: Harry Potter' or 'Ministry Decrees New Law', there was instead six individual pictures of as many teenagers. Only these teenagers were not Harry, Hermione, Ron, or even Luna. At Neville's silent command, the Room procured a large blown up image of the front page for everyone to see.

"Who the bloody hell are they?" someone voiced the very same question that Neville was wondering.

On the front page, a large headline read: **Six Dangerous Teens Spotted at the Leaky Cauldron and Malfoy Manor. Wanted: 10,000 galleon's each**

"Bloody hell," Neville muttered. If they had the same bounty as Harry Potter on their heads, then the Death Eaters must not like them very much.

Below the headline was a short article:

_Six foreign teenagers possessing unknown magic have been spotted at the Leaky Cauldron a few months previously, leaving several wizards dead and the remaining trapped in a giant steel cage that seemingly appeared out of nowhere. Three of the same teens were reported to have trespassed on Malfoy property, responsible for the rescue of one Harry Potter and comrades. These teenagers are a danger to the wizarding world, and the Ministry implores the community to keep an eye out for these outlaws._

"Bloody hell," Neville repeated, but soon his heart lifted. These teens had rescued Harry from the Malfoys, so they can't be all that bad. Maybe they were on their side. The rest of the DA seemed to have come to that same conclusion, for soon excited murmurs had filled the room behind him.

"Hey, I know who they are!" someone suddenly called out, and all eyes turned to stare at one Seamus Finnigan. Said person flushed.

"Well, as all of you know, I'm a half-blood, so I did grow up in a muggle neighborhood," he explained. "Once, my dad took me along on a business trip to Japan during the summer. You woudn't believe the technology there, the muggles are incredibly smart. Anyways, there's this card game there called Duel Monsters, really popular, and I think that kid with the spiky tricolored hair is the World Champion! The King of Games, they called him."

Lavender Brown stared from Seamus, to the pictures, than back to Seamus. Her eyebrows were raised.

"Um, _which _person with the spiky tricolored hair?" she asked. "There are two."

Seamus furrowed his eyebrows. "Good point," he said. "But they both look familiar. I've seen pictures of both of them around Japan, but there's no mention that there are two of them; they're both under the same name."

Neville's interest peaked. "And what is that name?" he asked. Seamus turned to him.

"It was Japanese, so I can't really pronounce it. But it sounded something like…Yugi Mutou," he replied. "Although why he's in England of all places is anyone's guess."

"Thanks for the information Seamus," Neville said, before turning back to excuse Aberforth. "And thanks for bringing us the paper, Abe."

As the muttering ceased, Neville made his way to his hammock. As the lights dimmed and the people drifted off to sleep, he couldn't help but worry for his friends' safety. Were they in good hands? Were the Japanese teens traveling with them? Were they helping them? With all these questions whirring through his head, Neville drifted off into a troubled sleep.

* * *

**The Burrow, outskirts of St. Ottery Catchpole**

Ginny gaped in astonishment at the state of her brother and sister-in-law. Their clothes were torn and slightly frayed, as was their hair. It looked like they had just escaped from a fire. Behind them stood Mr. Ollivander, Dean Thomas, Luna Lovegood, Ron, Hermione, and three other teenagers whom Ginny recognized as three of the foreign teens that Bill had mentioned.

"What on earth happened, Bill?" Mrs. Weasley cried out, eyes wide with shock and fear.

"We were attacked," Bill said grimly.

"By who?" Fred asked, although it was rather obvious.

"Why, eezn't eet obvious?" Fleur snapped. "Ze Death Eaters, zat's who attacked us! And now, sanks to zem, our beautiful cottage is probably een ruins!"

As Fleur continued to rant, Ginny took the time to scrutinize the three strangers. They certainly _were _odd-looking. Wild, multicolored hair stuck out in all directions. Was that white _natural_? And was the short kid blonde, a redhead, or black-haired? She had to admit though, they were cute.

"I'm Yugi Mutou," the shortest one introduced himself, sticking out his hand. Mrs. Weasley took it graciously, and ushered them all into the kitchen to get some food in their stomachs, which Malik happily agreed to.

After the three had eaten as much as they could, Fred and George had showed them upstairs to Ron's room, where they would be staying. Afterwards, they just sat and talked for a bit.

"So…where are the other three?" George asked. Yugi, Ryou, and Malik looked at them in confusion.

"What other three?" Ryou asked.

"You know, the other three people who are with you! You guys are all over the _Daily Prophet_!" Fred exclaimed, shoving an issue in their faces. They all scanned the page and scoffed.

"Oh, right. They're, um…out doing something with Harry. They should be back soon," Yugi said, returning the paper. Ginny's interest peaked.

"What are they doing?" she asked. Ron and Hermione gave the teens warning glances.

"Uh…I don't think we're allowed to tell you that," Ryou said uncomfortably. Ginny sighed. Of course. Harry himself hadn't even told her, so why would these strangers?

Malik tried to change the subject. "So…nice place you got here!"

They all looked at him incredulously. The Egyptian blinked. "What?"

* * *

**Riddle Manor, Little Hangleton**

Lord Voldemort was not in a good mood. First, he gets notified that the rebellion at Hogwarts has far from stopped, lead by Neville _Longbottom_ no less. Then, he gets a notification that those Japanese teenagers had broken into the Malfoy manor and had rendered one of his most loyal Death Eaters unconscious! _And _they had done it to rescue Potter, which meant that they were most likely on their side!

"The Millennium Items _must _become mine," he hissed. Though he couldn't use them, that still didn't stop him from wanting them on his side. There were seven of them in all, resources had told him. Seven, the most powerfully magical number. It couldn't be more perfect. However, if he couldn't have them, no one could. He will have to deal with these teens personally.

"My lord, we have a lead on the items," Yaxley said from his place at the door. Voldemort turned a red glare onto the man, causing him to shiver. He had sent some of his Death Eaters to Japan and Egypt to dig up some information, and possibly locate the remaining four items.

"Speak," the Dark wizard commanded. Yaxley nodded, before continuing.

"We have found that these six are very well known in Japan, and that they have a friend who is also magically able. Though he doesn't have an item, he has the magic of the Shadows, and we believe that he will have useful information for us," the Death Eater reported.

Voldemort's interest was peaked.

"And who might this person be?" he asked silkily.

"Seto Kaiba, my Lord."

* * *

**Darkie: **Behold! My awesomely short chapter of awesomeness! I've decided that since things are moving waaay too fast in this story, my chapters are going to be shorter. So you guys will just have to deal with it. Unlike most HP/YGO crossovers, this doesn't take place in school, where a whole myriad of things could happen, so my choices are very limited. But as you can see, I finally added my own twist to the plot, and had the Weasleys meet with the hikaris. ^^. Plus, here is another lame attempt to bring our beloved Seto-sama _–winks at Sazerac-_ into the story.

**Seto: **_-grumbles- _MUST you bring me into this hocus pocus nonsense?

**Darkie: **_-evil grin- _But the next chapter will be ALL you…probably. Also, since it's summer break here, I'll be able to update a lot more often (hopefully). I hope to finish _Of Egyptians and Death Gods _by the end of the summer, and start posting my _Super Special Awesome Secret _fic, which is Puzzleshipping! ^^

**Seto: **_-grumbles darkly about magic and nonsense-_

**Ryou: Please review!** If you do you'll get…uh…hey Yami what other cyber plushies do we have in the cyber storage box?

**Yami: **_-digs through storage box- _Um…we have stuffed snowy owls of some sort…

**Harry: **That's Hedwig!

**Ryou: **_-blinks- _Alrighty then! If you **review**, you'll get Cyber Hedwig plushies!

**PLEASE NOTE: I AM GOING TO GO ON VACATION FROM JULY 3RD TO JULY 14TH (at least I THINK it's July 14th) IN EUROPE (Barcelona, Nice, and Paris to be exact ^^). SO I WILL NOT BE UPDATING DURING THAT TIME. **


	6. Enter Seto Kaiba

**Darkie: **OMG! My chapters are getting shorter. xD But that's alright. My goal is to at least get this story past ten chapters, after all, it IS a crossover. But as I said before, it's kind of hard to get things going if they're not at a school where practically everything can happen and still make sense.

**Everybody Else: **_-not listening- _"MY SHADOW'S THE ONLY ONE THAT WALKS BESIDE ME! MY SHALLOW HEART'S THE ONLY THING THAT'S BEATING! SOMETIMES I WISH SOMEONE OUT THERE WILL FIND ME! 'TIL THEN I WALK ALONE!"

**Darkie: **_-vein pulses- _OI! WHAT THE F***'S UP WITH YOU PEOPLE! STOP SCREWING AROUND WITH MY MUSIC PLAYER!

**Everybody (excluding a certain two people): **_-snaps to attention- _Er...._-sweatdrop-_

**Marik and Malik: **_-still singing- _"I WALK ALONE, I WALK ALONE! I WALK ALONE, I WALK A..."---OOOOWWW!!!

**Darkie: **_-glares at them while holding them by the ears- _Shut up and listen you two. As punishment, you gotta do the Disclaimer.

**Marik: **But you never do the Disclaimer anyways!

**Darkie: **_-glares- _JUST. DO. IT.

**Malik: **Darkie does not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or Harry Potter.

**Marik: **Heck, she doesn't even own her own house or even this computer that she's using to upload the chapter! _-dodges a sneaker that was thrown at him by Darkie-

* * *

_

**Domino City, Japan**

The seaside city of Domino was peaceful in the moonless night. Not a cricket stirred, and the few who were out at this late hour hurried hastily down the streets, eager to retreat into the safety of their homes. For though nobody knew what it was, they all felt it. An evil presence was infiltrating the city, sending shivers down the spine of even the smallest child.

Within the Kaiba Mansion, Seto Kaiba felt this shiver as well, but pushed it aside as stress. The light in his study was the only one on in the spacious manor, as he typed tirelessly on his laptop, managing his company stocks and branches.

Another shiver passed down his spine, and cold blue eyes looked up to scan the room warily. Eyes narrowing, Seto closed the window on his laptop and stood up, snapping it shut. Something wasn't right. Something wasn't the way it should be.

It had been a couple of weeks since Yugi, Ryou, Malik, and their respective darks had left for vacation in England. Since their departure, Seto had been feeling uneasy, and had become increasingly paranoid, as his brother had commented. Not a day had passed when the CEO hadn't had routine security checks over the company building and the mansion, once in the morning, noon, and night. So far, nothing had come up, but the brunette still couldn't shake off the feeling that something was amiss.

Every since that disastrous trip to the Memory World, and that duel between Yugi and the Pharaoh, Seto had taken his views on magic slightly differently. Key word being _slightly_. He admitted that there _was _magic, but he was still convinced that what little magic _did _exist in the world was far inferior to technology, and that there was no point in having it at all. Either way though, he still couldn't escape the fact that magic did indeed exist.

There it was again. Stronger this time. A sense of foreboding swept over Seto, and he quickly picked up his suitcase and strode quickly down the hallway to Mokuba's room. Opening the door, he panicked when he saw that Mokuba wasn't in bed, but quickly calmed down when he caught sight of him sitting on the window ledge looking out into the city. The boy's blue-gray eyes were troubled.

"Mokuba?"

The boy turned. "Nii-sama," he acknowledged. "Do you feel it?"

Unsure of what to say, Seto nodded. So Mokuba, too, was feeling uneasy.

"Something's up with Yugi and the others, Nii-sama, I just know it," Mokuba said. "They're probably in danger."

"They can take care of themselves, Mokuba," Seto replied curtly, going over to sit down besides his brother. Before either of them could say anything more, however, the alarm sounded, reverberating throughout the mansion, and red lights flashed.

"What's going on?" Mokuba gasped, clutching onto Seto's jacket. Seto didn't answer, as he was too busy trying to contact the security room with his built-in walkie-talkie on the collar of his shirt. Key word being 'trying'. All he could hear was static, and nobody was answering. Dammit, why did they have to choose tonight of all nights to fall asleep on the job?

Gesturing for Mokuba to stay silent, Seto lead him by the hand out the room and to the stairs. Cautiously, they crept half-way down and peered through the banister. Several cloaked figures were moving around, arguing in what Seto recognized to be English.

"Dammit, he had an alarm! How could you have been so dense?"

"It's not my fault he has advanced muggle technology! You were just as eager to barge in as I was!"

"No matter now, let's just find the muggle and bring him to the Dark Lord."

What little Seto understood of the conversation, he didn't like. Cursing himself for not learning English when he had the chance, he thought over his predicament. From the sounds of it, these people wanted to take him to their 'Dark Lord', who was probably their boss. A commotion and a gasp from his brother startled him.

One of the maids had woken up and was yelling at the group to get out, a shotgun in hand. Her hands were shaking, and her face was stark white. One of the figures pulled what looked like a stick out of his robes and pointed it at the poor girl.

"Avada Kedavra!"

Before Seto could begin to make sense of what the man had just said, there was a flash of green light, and the maid was on the ground, dead. Mokuba gasped. Really loudly. The figures turned around and caught sight of them on the stairs. Without waiting for them to speak, Seto had grabbed Mokuba and ran for it.

"It's him! That muggle! Get him!"

The cloaked freaks quickly followed the two Kaibas in pursuit. Seto ran up two more flights of stairs, before barging through a door that lead to the roof. Using his transmitter, he quickly ordered his private Blue-Eyes jet over to the mansion, and was waiting for it impatiently until the cloaked figures finally made it to the roof, having been hindered by their clothing.

Seto and Mokuba backed up to the edge of the roof, and the latter looked nervously behind him at the slanted drop. The masked figures sniggered, thinking that they had finally cornered their prey.

"No where to run now, Muggle," one of them said in Japanese, pointing a stick at the CEO, who looked at him unflinchingly.

"Oh really now?" he replied casually, trying to buy more time.

"What are you talking about?" the person said, taking off his mask to reveal a pale, pointed face and long, platinum blonde hair. "There's nowhere to run. Now come with us quietly, and you'll be unharmed."

"And why would I come with you?" Seto asked.

"Our Lord wishes to see you, about these trinkets known as 'Millennium Items'. Sound familiar?" the man said. Seto's eyes widened, before he cursed mentally. He should have known that this had something to do with the Geek Squad! What kind of mess have they gotten themselves into this time? And furthermore, how had _he _been dragged into the whole thing?

"Whatever you want, I don't have," he replied calmly. "You'll have to get the information out of the Geek Squad, though by the sounds of it, they outsmarted you."

"Shut up, Muggle!" one of the figures snapped. "What would you know about the goings on in England?"

"I know now that the Geek Squad has run into a bunch of freaks brandishing sticks," Seto replied indifferently. "Figures that they'd run into trouble even on vacation."

"Filthy Muggle!" the first figure snarled. "You will pay dearly for your insolen—what the?"

The air churned, as from up above a shadow loomed in the shape of a large dragon. The masked men, momentarily caught unawares, looked up with something between awe and fear. Seto used this to his advantage, grabbing Mokuba and jumping up into the cockpit. As the roof closed down on them, one of the men cried out,

"It's a dragon!"

"No it's not, you git! That's muggle technology!"

But before any of them could so much as raise their sticks, the Blues Eyes Jet had taken off, and the Kaiba brothers disappeared into the night.

* * *

**The Burrow, Outskirts of St. Ottery Catchpole, England**

"I attack your monster with my Dark Magician Girl, bringing your life points down to zero."

"NANI**(1)**?! Ah for the love of Ma'at, I give up! You wanna have a go Ryou?"

"No thanks."

The three hikaris were playing Duel Monsters in the living room. Well, Yugi and Malik were playing, and Ryou was watching. Needless to say, Yugi won. Malik groaned, flinging his cards up into the air and collapsing back onto the sofa. The Weasley twins watched the Egyptian's antics in amusement, as Ginny giggled.

"Wow, Yugi sure got you there, mate," Fred commented. Malik glared at him.

"Shut up, you," he snapped, miffed. Muttering profanities under his breath, he began to pick up his scattered deck. Yugi simply smiled innocently, something that he was extremely good at, though Malik saw through his guise.

"When do you think Yami, Bakura, Marik, and Harry are going to get back?" Ryou asked suddenly. Yugi's eyes seemed to glaze over for a moment, before he answered,

"I don't know when they'll be back, but they haven't completed their mission yet, that's for sure."

Fred, George, and Ginny looked at him curiously.

"How do you know that?"

Yugi blushed. "Uh, well, call it a 'gut feeling' if you will," he replied hastily. George opened his mouth to ask another question, but was silenced when Malik snapped,

"And no, we aren't going to tell you what it is that they're doing!"

"Dammit!"

* * *

**Tunnels, Gringotts, Diagon Alley**

"Are we there yet?" Marik asked for the umpteenth time as the cart made a wild turn. The goblin under his control didn't answer, but simply stared straight ahead with blank eyes. Marik groaned; he was looking distinctly green.

"Aw, suck it up, Tomb Keeper," Bakura scoffed. "We'll be there soon enough."

Finally, after what seemed like hours later, the cart jerked to a stop in front of a large vault. At least it seemed large, although it was hard to tell, as most of it was hidden behind a large, scaly body.

"By Ra, it's a dragon," Yami said softly, looking up into said creatures, milky blue eyes. Harry noticed that the dragon was obviously blind, with rust-colored scales that were flaky and unkempt. It's legs were shackled to the wall, but the chains were long enough to provide it some movement. As if sensing their presence, it gave out a roar.

"How the hell are we supposed to get past that thing?" Marik asked the goblin, who replied in a monotone.

"The Clankers," he said. "We need the Clankers."

"Clankers? What Clankers?" Bakura asked, searching the cart for anything that might match the description. Except for the fact that the cart was empty.

"Damn it, they must keep the Clankers up front in the lobby!" Yami cursed. Marik groaned.

"Now what?" Harry asked, having freed himself from his Invisibility Cloak. Nobody answered, so for a few moments, the three yamis and Harry just sat inside the cart, pondering ways in which they could get past the monster before them. Suddenly, Yami snapped his fingers.

"I've got it!" he exclaimed, before digging out his dueling deck and rifling through it. Bakura and Marik made noises of realization, as Harry simply looked on, confused.

Yami held up a card above his head, and Harry could make out the figure of a yellow and red dragon on it, before the card was engulfed in purple light.

"Curse of Dragon!"

Harry closed his eyes and shielded his face from the bright flash that followed, and when he reopened them, he was facing not one, but two dragons in the large tunnel. The guard dragon, as if sensing the other's more powerful presence, immediately quieted down, allowing the Egyptians and Harry to tiptoe cautiously around it. Marik reached out to touch the vault door, ignoring Harry's warning cry, and disappeared in a puff of smoke, the Millennium Rod dropping to the ground.

"Marik? Marik!" Bakura cried out. "This isn't funny!"

"No, stop Bakura, don't touch the vault!" Harry cried out. "Only a Gringotts goblin can touch the vault, otherwise you'll just get sucked inside!"

Yami quickly grabbed the Rod from its place on the floor and pointed it at the goblin, willing it to go and touch the vault door. It wasn't easy, as Yami wasn't the rightful owner, but eventually the goblin complied, running a finger along the crack in the middle of the doorway. The doors opened, revealing mounds and mounds of golden Galleons, silver Sickles, and bronze Knuts. Harry could practically see the dollar signs flashing in Bakura's eyes.

A yell distracted them all out of their reverie, and they saw a pained Marik standing among a pile of golden teacups that looked exactly the same. The Egyptian's clothes were torn and frayed, and he certainly looked the worse for the wear.

"What the hell happened to you?" Bakura asked. Marik glared at him, trying to remain as still as possible.

"All I did was touch a cup and it burned me and multiplied!" he snapped.

"They must have spells cast on them to prevent them from getting stolen!" Harry cried out. "Look for something that has a badger on it!"

And so the yamis and Harry began their search, careful not to touch anything. A triumphant cry came from Bakura's direction.

"I found it! It's up there!" he called from the other side of the vault. The others ran over to see him standing at the foot of a large pile of priceless treasures, pointing up where a small cup emblazoned with a badger perched precariously on the top of the mound.

"So…how do we get it down?" Yami asked dubiously. "I don't know about you, but I don't think it would be a good idea to climb up that thing."

"Then we'll have to use a different method," Bakura stated, pulling out a card from his pocket. "Dark Necrofear!"

A blue-skinned woman in armor and holding a defiled doll appeared before them in a puff of blue smoke. Harry had to suppress shivers at the look it was giving them. Bakura whispered a few words to it in Egyptian, and if floated up to the ceiling, plucking the cup from the mound. A score of identical copies showered down on them, and the foursome cried out in pain as they were burned. Seemingly unfazed, the monster floated back down and held out the cup to Bakura, who looked at it warily before taking off his beret and putting it in.

"Come on, let's get out of here," he said.

Harry and the others came out of the vault to find the guard dragon asleep, and the Curse of Dragon standing guard instead. After whispering a few words of praise, Yami had the dragon return to his deck.

"So…how are we going to get out?" Harry asked. "You know we'll look suspicious if we come out into the lobby covered with burns."

"Don't worry, we can use a Shadow Portal to get back to the cottage," Yami replied, conjuring up what looked like a black hole in midair.

"Why didn't we do that before?" Harry asked.

"Because we had no idea where we were going," Bakura said. "Shadow Portals can only take the caster somewhere that they've been before**(2)**. Come on. Marik, don't forget to have the goblin lock up and erase its memories." With that, Bakura, Yami, and Harry stepped into the portal, leaving Marik to clean everything up. Grumbling to himself, the Egyptian erased the goblin's memories and sent it back up to the lobby in the cart, before stepping through the portal as well.

* * *

**Shell Cottage, er...somewhere in England**

"WHAT IN THE NAME OF OSIRIS HAPPENED HERE?!"

Bakura's outraged cry echoed among the cliffs and rebounded. Harry, Yami, and Marik could only stare in horror at what used to be Shell Cottage. Now, it was a pile of blacked rubble and ash, having obviously been attacked and blown up.

"Calm down Bakura," Yami said. "Our hikaris are safe, I can sense it."

"Then where are they?" Bakura growled. Yami's eyes glazed over for a second, before turning to Harry.

"Do you know somewhere called The Burrow?" he asked. Harry blinked at him in astonishment. How did he???

"Uh, yeah," he replied. "It's where Ron's family lives. I can try and apparate us there."

Feeling rather nervous again at having to apparate, the yamis linked hands with the Boy Who Lived, and all four disappeared with a pop.

* * *

**(1) Uh...I think that means something along the lines of "WHAT?!"...at least that's what it sounds like in the anime. xD  
**

**(2) Er...I made that up, purely because I was lazy and didn't want to write a whole escape scene. **

**Darkie: **Okay, now I'm sure all of you are confused as to how they managed to get out of the bank so smoothly. I didn't want Voldemort finding out about the theft TOO soon, otherwise he'll just go straight on to check the other Horcruxes and then to Hogwarts...and, well...that'd be too fast. So I'm dragging things out a bit.

**Marik and Malik: **"I WALK THIS EMPTY STREET, ON THE BOULEVARD OF BROKEN DREAMS! WHEN THE CITY SLEEPS, AND I'M THE ONLY ONE AND I WALK ALONE!"

**Darkie: **Ugh..._-facepalm-_ Also, I don't own the song _Boulevard of Broken Dreams_ either, sadly. That belongs to Greenday. Also, don't forget to check out my profile! I have this weird 'Rant' section on it, where I rant about things that piss me off when I'm reading fanfiction. Current rant is about girl Yugis. ^^ And don't forget to review!


	7. Enter Seto Kaiba: Part 2

**Darkie: **Hiya peeps! Deepest apologies if this chapter isn't quite 'up to scratch'. Since my parents decided to bring the laptop on vacation, I'm starting it on the plane. The view is hella awesome. We made it across the state in less than an hour! _-goes back to fume silently in the corner-_

**Marik: **What's up with her?

**Yugi: **She got a rude review.

**Darkie: **_-huffs-_ Sheesh! And the person made an ANONYMOUS review, dammit, so I can't reply telling her to f*** off! _-huffs even more-_

**Ryou and Yugi:**_-tries to calm Darkie down, but are failing miserably-_

**Darkie: **_-huffs even more-_ Just for that, I'm delaying the next chapter's release, even though I've already written it!

**Everybody: **WHAT?!?!

**Bakura: **What about the other stories?

**Darkie: **Because I'm on writer's block. _Of Egyptians and Death Gods _is at a standstill because I can't conjure up a good Shadow Game to play. I've got the basic idea down, but it's still kind of…bleah. As for _Lies and Betrayal_ (dang, I need to change that title sometime, it's so cheesy), I'm kind of iffy, since I'm no good at that romance drama crap. xD

**Disclaimer: **Yu-Gi-Oh! Belongs to Kazuki Takahashi (ah, darn it), and Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling. This story belongs to moi. ^^

---

**The Fields, Outskirts of St. Ottery Catchpole (at least I think it's called that, please correct me if I'm wrong)**

A loud POP sounded in the peaceful night, as four figures appeared seemingly out of nowhere in the middle of a spacious field. Three of them were doubled over, gasping for breath, as the fourth looked around, taking in their bearings.

"I think I landed a little bit off," he said, emerald-green eyes glowing in the dark. "But I can see the house from here, so we'll walk the rest of the way."

The others grunted in acknowledgement, and they set off across the field. No words were said, each too intent on the thought of rejoining their friends after a long day of lawbreaking. Harry cradled the cup in his arms like a newborn baby, still wrapped in Bakura's beret. He wondered how long it would take for the goblins to notice the theft.

_/Flashback/_

"_Only a Gringotts goblin is able to open the high security vaults," Griphook said boastfully. "Anybody else would just be sucked in and trapped."_

"_How often do you check to see if anybody's in there?" Harry asked. _

"_About once every four years," the goblin replied, smiling slyly._

_/End Flashback/_

If that encounter in his first year was anything to go by, Harry was pretty confident that they would be able to get away with it for quite a while longer. But then again, who knew what would happen with Voldemort under control?

Finally, they reached the front side of The Burrow. The Egyptians looked up at it in bewilderment, probably wondering, like Harry had in his second year, how the whole thing stayed standing. Indeed, it did look rather like a bunch of stone pig pens stacked on top of each other. But Harry knew that it was a true home to the kind-hearted people who lived there.

"The Weasley kid lives in _that _thing?" Bakura asked incredulously. Harry shrugged.

"Well, it's home to him," he said, before striding forward to knock on the door. A commotion could immediately be heard on the other side, and Harry heard Mr. Weasley's voice through the wood.

"Who is this?" he asked.

"Harry Potter," Harry replied. A pause, then,

"What type of car was it that you were caught flying in the second year?"

Harry paused when he heard snickering on both sides of the door. Shooting a glare behind him at the yamis, he replied, "It was a blue Ford Anglia."

The door immediately opened and Harry soon found himself in the middle of a massive group hug. The Egyptians were also practically bowled over by their partners, and Mrs. Weasley shooed everybody inside the house.

"Where are earth have you four been?" the motherly woman scolded. "We were all worried sick!"

"It's none of your business, woman," Bakura snapped, and Mrs. Weasley backed off, looking rather affronted. Ryou scolded the thief with a smack on the head.

"Be nice 'Kura!"

---

"I still can't believe that you got away with that," Hermione was still saying an hour later, after they had escaped the adults and gone to Ron's room. "You know it'll be all over the news soon enough; why keep it from everyone else?"

"Think of it as telling them a little…later, is all," Ron replied, chewing on his apple. "It's not like they _need _to know anything."

"So, what are we going to do with the cup?" Marik asked. Harry unwrapped the antique from the folds of the hat, laying it carefully on the carpet. It seemed to draw everybody's eye. The black and white badger stood out prominently against the gold cup, the handles carved into an intricate vine-like design. It was almost a shame that they had to destroy the troublesome thing.

"So," Harry began. "I suppose you three should set to work on the horcrux."

"I suppose we should," Yami agreed, and with great reluctance, the other two Egyptians sat around the horcrux as well, forming a triangle. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and the hikaris backed away to the other side of the room, so as not to disrupt the spell.

A blackish-purple aura began to engulf the three spirits, and the Eye of Horus shown on their foreheads. The cup rose into the air, an eerie green light surrounding it. Right before their eyes, the badger engraved on the surface began to contort, twisting itself into the likeness of a human face, red eyes glowing menacingly.

"_Who dares awaken me from my slumber?" _a snake-like hiss sounded from what was previously a harmless piece of Tupperware. Bakura turned to Marik, smirking.

"Why don't you do the honors this time, my friend?"

Marik grinned wickedly. "With pleasure," he replied, before a tendril of shadows erupted from his palm, trying like before to silence the soul fragment. Unlike last time, however, the soul fought back. A green tentacle unwrapped itself from the vine-pattern of the handle, before shooting out at the closest person, who happened to be Yami. With a surprised shout, the ex-Pharaoh was lifted off his feet, the thing having wrapped-itself around his neck.

Yugi gave out a worried shout, but Ryou put a hand on his shoulder, holding him back. Large amethyst eyes looked on in concern.

Bakura had run over to Yami, trying to pull off the vine, but it only tightened in response to his efforts. Marik, starting to panic, forced another tendril of shadows at the cup, but seemed only to anger it further. The vine around Yami's neck thickened, and thorns started to protrude from the shoot. Yami gave out a strangled cry as the skin on his neck was pierced.

"Marik! Use a Shadow Ball instead!" Bakura yelled out, and Marik complied. The black orb hit the by now barely-recognizable cup, and a faint, pain-filled scream was heard before the cup split in two. The vine loosened and withered, allowing Yami to escape. Afterwards, the three Egyptians all collapsed on the carpet, exhausted.

For a moment, nobody spoke. That is, until loud footsteps could be heard swiftly coming up the stairs. The teens panicked, and Harry quickly shoved the cup fragments under Ron's bed, before the door slammed open and a worried Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, along with Bill, Fred, and George, appeared in the doorway. They seemed confused and rather taken aback at the sight of all the teens sitting comfortably on the ground.

"Is something wrong, Mrs. Weasley?" Yugi asked, eyes wide and innocent.

"We thought we heard a scream," Bill said uncertainly, looking around the room.

"Are you guys alright?" Fred asked. Yugi put on a bright smile, so bright that everybody else in the room had to sweatdrop.

"Everything's fine, Fred! You shouldn't worry so much!"

"All right then…hey, what're those red spots on your neck, Yami?" Fred asked suddenly. There was a short pause, before…

"They're hickeys."

"…"

"Yeah, that's ri—wait, what? BAKURA!"

---

Seto Kaiba was not happy, and that was the understatement of the century, no, possibly the millennia. First, he had been attacked in the middle of the nights by freaks wearing cloaks, who had seemed to believe in and use magic. Then, he finds out that it had something to do with the Geek Squad (figures), and now, he and Mokuba were in the Blue Eyes Jet, halfway across the globe.

Things just couldn't get any better, could it?

Seto glanced behind him at the sleeping figure of his little brother, looking blissfully peaceful in his sleep. Sometime during the night (or maybe it was day, it was hard to be sure while you were flying), Seto had taken off his trench coat and draped it over Mokuba's shoulders after seeing him shiver slightly.

A beeping noise jolted Seto from his reverie, and he glanced down at his Global Positioning Satellite to see that he was flying directly over London. Now all he had to do was find the Geek Squad, go to them, and give them a piece of his mind for disturbing his work.

Sighing, Seto pulled out the built-in phoning device from the dashboard, and dialed in Yugi's number.

---

"Guy's, you'll never believe this! Guy's!"

Ryou's voice emanated throughout the house as the young albino rushed up the stairs. Being an early bird, the half-Brit had decided to go downstairs and fix himself some breakfast, only to find the morning issue of _The Daily Prophet_ lying on the table. One glance at the front page told the teen all he needed to know, and he had immediately run upstairs with the paper.

"Whuz goin' on?" Malik asked, pushing a sleepy head out the door of the room. His blonde hair was askew, and without kohl, his eyes looked considerably smaller. In response to his question, Ryou shoved the newspaper in his face. "Ryou, what the---HOLY RA, GUY'S COME LOOK AT THIS!"

Pretty soon, the whole family was awake, and huddled around the group of Japanese teenagers in Percy's room, murmuring worriedly over the newspaper. And it was no wonder, either, for the front page's headline said, "**Death Eater Attack on the Kaiba Mansion in Domino, Japan**". Below the headline, there was a picture of the ruined mansion, along with the article:

_Last night, Death Eater activity was reported at the Kaiba Estate in Domino City, Japan. Upon arrival, the Japanese ministry discovered the Dark Mark cast over the building, and several dead muggle servants. The Kaiba brothers themselves, however, were nowhere to be found. The Ministry believes that they had escaped, for Seto Kaiba, the oldest brother and head of the successful Muggle company Kaiba Corp, had called in sick the morning after, reporting to be taking a vacation. How these muggles escaped, nobody knows, and why the Death Eaters attacked is still a mystery. _

It went on to talk more about the background of Kaiba's company, along with some quotes from Ministry workers and officials.

"Oh my god, they went after Kaiba," Yugi murmured.

"Why do I get the feeling that we're going to have a very pissed off High Priest on our hands soon?" Bakura asked. As if to answer his question, Yugi's cellphone rang, startling the wizards and witches that were present.

"Hello?" Yugi said, putting the phone to his ear (Mr. Weasley stared at it in fascination), before almost dropping it in surprise when an angry voice came over the earpiece.

"YUGI! YOU'D BETTER HAVE AN EXPLANATION FOR THIS!"

"S-Seto!" Yugi stammered out, but before he could get so much as a word in the voice shouted again. Yugi was now holding the phone at arms length away from his ear.

"I WANT ANSWERS, AND I WANT THEM _NOW_ YUGI! TELL ME WHY A BUNCH OF FREAKS IN CLOAKS BRANDISHING STICKS ATTACKED ME AND DESTROYED MY HOME! AND DON'T YOU TELL ME YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING, BECAUSE I KNOW YOU DO! THEY WERE AFTER THOSE DAMN MILLENNIUM ITEMS OF YOURS AGAIN!"

"Now now, Seto, calm down," Yugi began weakly.

"DON'T YOU GIVE ME THAT CRAP! I WANT ANSWERS AND I WANT THEM NOW! You'd better be ready, because I'm tracking the location of your phone to wherever you are. My jet will arrive in about ten minutes."

"Wh-what?" Yugi gasped. "No, Seto, I don't think that's a good—"

CLICK.

"…idea," Yugi finished lamely after Seto had hung up. Sighing, he looked up at the bewildered faces of the wizards, along with the amused faces of his friends. "Um, so my friend who was on the paper is going to be here soon."

"Really? Then we should probably go out to meet him," Mrs. Weasley said, before bustling back down the stairs. The others followed shortly after.

---

Five minutes later, the whole group was out in the fields, looking up at the sky. The wizards seemed rather confused, however.

"How are they getting here?" Fred asked. "Broomsticks?"

Marik and Bakura sniggered, while Yami cracked a smirk.

"Seto's a 'muggle', remember? He'll be using…_other_ means of transportation," Yami replied. This only served to confuse the Weasleys even more.

"But how does a muggle get places through the air?" George asked.

"He's probably going to use either an airplane or a flying vehicle of some sort," Hermione replied smartly, being muggle-born. "They're muggle devices used for traveling long distances through the air, usually overseas."

"Bloody hell," Ron commented. "Who knew muggles were that smart?"

"Muggles are plenty smart," Bakura replied. "You wizards are just too ignorant to notice."

A loud roaring noise filled the air, making everybody jump in surprise.

"He's here," Yami stated calmly, looking up at the sky, the others following his gaze. Soon enough, the silhouette of something was visible in the sky. Eyes widened in recognition.

"That's a dragon!" Bill cried out. The other Weasleys looked on in awe. Yugi giggled.

"That's no dragon Bill," he said. "That's the Blue-Eyes Jet."

The jet was close enough now to see that it was indeed a machine. Light blue metal gleamed in the sunlight, almost blending in with the sky, while the 'head' of the dragon was revealed to be a cockpit. The grass swayed precariously in the wind as the jet touched the ground.

The roof of the cockpit rose up, and Seto Kaiba emerged from it in all his glory. White, sleeveless trench coat over a black turtleneck and pants. Cold blue eyes stared at the group from under a fringe of brown bangs. Behind him, coming up to only about his waist, was Mokuba, shaggy black hair moving slightly in the breeze, and gray-blue eyes twinkling merrily.

The six-foot one teenager strode confidently past Fred and George, who were gaping at him like idiots, and directly in front of Yugi and Yami. Out of his mouth came the following words:

"I want answers, and I want them _now_."

---

**Darkie: **AAAAHHHH! That was terrible!!! But I managed to complete this chapter while still in Paris, so yay for me! Today (the day I finished this god-forsaken chapter), we went to the Louvre, and the Arc de Triomphe. My feet were screaming in agony by the time we got home. But we saw the Mona Lisa! ^^ Also, we should have internet connection once we get to the hotel in Nice, so that's where I'll upload the chapter. Also, the whole 'hickey' thing…er…stroke of inspiration. I got bored, and it seemed a good idea at the time…heh. For those of you who don't like Yaoi, I promise there won't be anything serious in this story. Most of it will be random corny jokes…because I suck at romance…again, it seemed like a good idea at the time…-_-'

**Seto: **Did you have to drag me into this magical nonsense?

**Darkie: **Well, truth be told, a story's no fun without your sarcasm to brighten the day!

**Everybody else: **_-cough-_BULLSHIT_-cough-_

**Yugi: **Please review! Also, if you subscribe/favorite without reviewing, Darkie will delay the next chapter's release! You have been warned! But you'll get Cyber Seto plushies if you DO review!

**Seto:** WHAT?!


	8. Explanations and Escapades

**Darkie: **And here's the next chapter! Yes, yes, I know, I'm neglecting the other stories I have, but this is the only one that I actually can picture chapter to chapter right now. Enjoy!

**Yugi: **Darkie does not own Yu-Gi-Oh! Or Harry Potter.

**Darkie: **If I did, I'd redraw the first like…7 volumes in the style of the Duelist books. ^^ The first volume had pictures that were kinda of creepy. xD But before you read this, I have a special note for all Puzzleshippers.

**CrazyAboutYugi's stories are gone. All gone. Deleted by a jealous bastard who deserves to rot in the deepest pits of hell. **

**It all started when her star story, _Of Wolf and Man_, disappeared. Since then, the hacker has been taking down all her stories, all her hard work. We, meaning everybody in Hikari-and-Yami's _Best Puzzleshipping Forum_, would like you to show your support in any way, shape or form. If you know something about all this, I implore you to PM either CrazyAboutYugi, or Hikari-and-Yami, or anybody you know connected to this scandal, even me. This shall not be allowed to pass. Because of one person's actions, a great authoress' writing spirit has been crushed. My sole purpose for posting my chapter this early is to notify all you Puzzleshippers reading this, and even if you're not a Puzzleshipper, please still lend your support. NOBODY deserves this kind of treatment. Even if you consider yourself the worst writer on the planet, YOU DON'T DESERVE THIS, let alone someone as sweet and caring and such great a writer as Larka (CAY). There is a heartless bastard on this website hacking into accounts and destroying people's lives. Please, PLEASE, help us. **

**I also advise you to change your passwords, just in case. The reason is obvious. Thank you for taking the time to listen and read this. Also, if by some miracle you happen to actually know this person in real life, give then a good sound beating from me, and every other Puzzleshipper on this site. Yuri, Natoya, Larka, and perhaps many others have all posted touching and saddening messages on their profiles. I have posted my message here to make sure that at least SOMEBODY reads this. Read the others to see exactly how much damage this person has done.  
**  
Now, on with the story!

* * *

**Previously, on Yu-Gi-Oh!**

"I want answers, and I want them NOW."

* * *

**And now, the conclusion!**

"Well, er, it's kind of a long story—" Yugi stammered, looking rather intimidated by the figure standing before him, who was at least twice his height. Yami glared at Seto for scaring his light.

"We'll tell you after you stop bitching, Kaiba," he said harshly. "Now if you will just follow us inside…"

* * *

**The Burrow, Outskirts of St. Ottery Catchpole

* * *

**

"You guys are all clinically insane," was Seto's (predictable) reaction when the darks and lights finished their story. The six of them rolled their eyes, while Harry, Ron, and Hermione just stared at the CEO incredulously.

"After all that you've seen, you still don't believe in magic?" Hermione asked. Seto turned his eyes onto the witch, making her flinch slightly.

"Oh, I believe in magic alright," he said, drawing snorts from Bakura, Marik, and Malik. "But I don't see how any of this, this _ministry of magic_ stuff is real. Dark Lord indeed."

"Didn't we tell you to stop your bitching, Kaiba?" Bakura snarled. "It's real whether you like it or not, so stop whining."

Seto glared at the thief murderously, but chose not to comment.

"Either way, we'll have to leave this place soon, tomorrow morning or tonight at best," Ryou stated, shuffling around the room. "We'll only put Ron's family in danger if we remain here."

"But where will we go?" Ron asked. The others paused for a moment, before an answer came, though somewhat reluctantly.

"I have a branch of Kaiba Corporation in London. We can stay in a house I have there."

Yami, Bakura, Marik, and Malik all stared at Seto disbelievingly. Yugi and Ryou simply rolled their eyes at their friend's antics. The other three just looked confused.

"Did Kaiba just agree to do something _nice _for us?" Marik asked. Seto rolled his eyes before standing up and leaving the room, telling them to be at the jet in fifteen minutes.

* * *

**Same Place as before…

* * *

**

Ginny sat on the steps leading down to the garden, blue eyes gazing off into the distance at the silhouette of the dragon machine that the brunette had flown here. It still amazed her that a muggle could build something that realistic and so useful. Looks like muggles weren't so helpless after all. They did have replacements for Apparition.

The redheaded girl sighed as she leaned back against the stone. Harry had finally come back, but he didn't acknowledge her like he once did. His whole stay here had been 'Voldemort' this, and 'Voldemort' that. Secret plans and escapades. How was it that those strange Japanese teens were in on everything, when she had known Harry, Ron, and Hermione much, much longer? What part did they play in this? And why had the Death Eaters attacked the home of that muggle?

With all these questions whirring in her head, Ginny almost didn't notice the crackle of the underbrush as several dark figures slinked over to the jet. Key word being '_almost'_. Startled, she sat up quickly and followed them. Up close, she saw that they were the muggle, the Japanese teens, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Where were they going? And why were they sneaking off without telling anybody? Feeling slightly hurt, but most of all confused, Ginny followed them.

"With the noise that this thing makes, it'll wake up everybody in the house, Kaiba!"

"Shut up, Malik! Don't you think I'd have already thought of that?"

"Why don't you all just shut up and get going?"

"Nobody asked you, Pharaoh."

Pharaoh? Wasn't that an Egyptian term for 'king'? Shaking her head, Ginny focused on the last person in the group. Bright green eyes gazed out from under jet black bangs, as Harry pursed his lips in frustration at his companions' antics. Deciding that she had waited long enough, Ginny took a deep breath, and stepped out of the shadows.

"Ginny? What are you doing here?" Yugi asked. Over the past couple of days, Ginny had grown to like the quite, cheerful boy, who's eyes held a wisdom far beyond his years.

"You guys are running off without telling anyone again," she stated. Harry, Ron, and Hermione glanced at each other uncomfortably.

"Listen, Ginny—" Harry began.

"Take me with you."

A pause as the teenagers tried to comprehend the request. Wide green eyes blinked in surprise.

"What?"

"I said," Ginny said. "Take me with you!"

"It's too dangerous!" Ron objected. Hermione nodded. "You're underage!"

Ginny's temper flared. It was always because she was underage! They were at war with the world's most powerful wizard ever, and they were worrying about her _age_???

"I'm going!" she retorted. "Just because I'm a year younger than you all, doesn't mean I can't take care of myself! Hell, I could probably Bat-Bogey Hex all of you this instant and go tell Mum!"

Ron paled considerably at this, as the others simply pursed their lips.

"We're wasting time. This is none of your business, girl, so go to bed," Seto snapped. Ginny glared at him.

"I'm 16, thank you very much!" she said. "I'm coming with you and that's that!" Her expression became pleading as she looked at her crush. "Please Harry, let me come. I can help!"

"You still have the Trace on you, Ginny, it's too dangerous," Harry said calmly, green eyes swimming with unrecognizable emotions. "They'll be able to track you through your magic."

"Then I won't use magic!"

"Then how do you expect to keep up with us?" Bakura asked testily. "You'll be just as useless as a muggle!"

"_He's _a muggle too, you know!" Ginny cried, pointing at the CEO, who only snorted.

"But he has Shadow magic running through his veins," Yami said, baritone voice soothing Ginny despite her wishes. "He can hold his own in a fight if it comes to that."

"But—" Ginny sighed. She knew she was fighting a losing battle. But that didn't stop the fire burning inside her, a desire to _help_, to be of use somehow.

"Tell you what," Yami said, stepping up to her and putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Tell Fred and George to tell their _Potterwatch_ pals some inside news. Harry Potter and company broke into Gringotts bank and stole a valuable artifact. It's bound to get on the news sometime, so might as well, give the fans some hope, okay?"

Ginny nodded, tears gathering in the corner of her eyes. Turning to Harry, she gave him a hug.

"Promise me you'll come back safe," she whispered. Harry wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight.

"I promise."

Sniffing, Ginny gave Harry a chaste kiss on the lips, before bounding back towards the house, red hair bouncing, without once looking back.

* * *

**Some Remote Location in Great Britain, HQ of Potterwatch

* * *

**

Remus Lupin was bored. That was an understatement. After moving the _Potterwatch _headquarters for about the hundredth time in as many days, he was finally able to relax. And yet…he was totally, and utterly bored. There had been no reports of Harry as of late, but he refused to give up hope. Young Harry had never failed them before, always able to save the day. And so he was going to save the day again this time, no doubts about it.

At least, Remus hoped so…

"Natasha, I need a butterbeer," he said to nobody in particular, but a second later a girl appeared on the steps leading to the studio, a glass of the golden liquid in her hands. Taking it, Remus sipped it, savoring the taste on his tongue. A tap sounded on the window pane.

"Rudy," Lee muttered, before going over to open the window, letting in the screech owl. A small scroll was tied to his leg. Remus opened it hastily, recognizing the Weasley twins' writing, and scanned the parchment eagerly, a smile making its way onto his face, widening with each line.

"Perfect," he whispered, before going over to the magical communication device on the table.

"Royal, River, we've got a show airing in fifteen minutes. Be here."

* * *

**Room of Requirement, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Scotland (I think)

* * *

**

"So, what do you think You-Know-Who's up to right now, Neville?" Seamus asked, tearing off a piece of his bread with his teeth.

"I'm not sure, but I bet he's dead set on trying to catch Harry, wherever he is," Neville replied, taking a sip of butterbeer. The others nodded, each focused on his or her food, courtesy of Aberforth.

"I wish we could do something," Parvati said wistfully. "It's doing no good while we all sit here and hide."

"There's nothing we _can_ do," Terry Boot said regretfully. "The Carrows will murder us as soon as we set foot out there."

No one could find an objection to that, so the next few minutes of dinner were spent in silence, as each student became lost in their own thoughts. Then, Lavender spoke up.

"Isn't there supposed to be an airing of _Potterwatch_ tonight?" she asked. This brought out excited murmurs from everybody. Collin nodded eagerly.

"Yes, it is!"

"What was the password again?"

"I think it was 'Phoenix'."

Michael Corner hurried over to the large old-fashioned wireless in the corner, and tapped it with his wand, muttering the aforementioned word. Immediately, a commercial for Instant Pimple Removal Cream came on, and the whole room waited with baited breath for the show to air. Finally…

"_This is River here, with yet another airing of _Potterwatch_! Today we have some inside news on the whereabouts of Harry Potter, sent in by an extremely reliable source, who's names shall not be mentioned for obvious reasons. Over to you, Romulus. What has Harry Potter been up to this time?"_

"_Our source informs us that they have come across Harry and company, who happened to include the six strange foreigners reported to have been seen at the Leaky Cauldron, sporting equally foreign magic. It is said that they are currently working together to accomplish an unknown goal. It was also said that the very same teenagers informed our source of their latest escapade."_

"_And what would that escapade be?"_

The students waited with bated breath for the news of their hero as Romulus paused dramatically, before dropping the bombshell.

"_The source informs us that Harry and company have just broken into Gringotts to retrieve a valuable artifact, said to be able to help stop He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."_

Shocked whispers carried across the room as the students looked at each other with wide eyes. Broken into Gringotts? That was nigh on impossible! How had the Boy-Who-Lived managed to do that? And most of all, how had he gotten out alive?

River too, had been stunned into silence.

"_Broken in Gringotts? Tell me you're joking, Romulus."_

"_I'm not, River. You of all people should know that this source is very reliable, and they wouldn't joke about something like that. I got the letter myself just an hour ago. I believe that it was with the help of those strange foreigners that Harry has managed to accomplish the impossible."_

"_Do you know what it is that they stole?"_

"_Afraid not, but I do know that it was from the vault of an old Pureblood family, deep underground, with the highest security possible."_

"_Are you saying that they got past a _dragon_?"_

"_I'm not saying that, but I believe that it is quite possible."_

Another voice, this one deep and calming, joined the conversation.

"_It looks like everybody, both the Death Eaters and the Good Side, have underestimated the power of these foreign teenagers. If they can repel the Killing Curse, I believe that breaking into a bank would be no problem for them."_

"_I see, thank you for your input, Royal. We have also received news on a Death Eater attack on the estate of a wealthy Japanese muggle businessman, who is believed to be linked to these strange teens. His whereabouts are currently unknown."_

"_Although it is believed that he may now be either looking for, or maybe even traveling with, the teens and Harry Potter."_

"_Well, that's all for tonight's airing of _Potterwatch_! Stay tuned for our next airing tomorrow night! The password will be 'Japan', in honor of these Japanese foreigners who seemed to have befriended our beloved Boy Who Lived!"_

As the radio became silent, murmurs immediately filled the room. Comments ranging from awe to concern were made, as everybody wondered exactly who those teenagers were. The muggle-borns especially, who had recognized their faces, were extremely confused and concerned.

_Who exactly are these people?_

* * *

**Headmaster's Study, Hogwarts, some remote place in Scotland  


* * *

**

Severus Snape had never been well-liked among the students and staff, except for the Slytherins, of course. His unsociable demeanor and menacing gaze drove away everybody who came near him, effectively isolating him from society.

But there was a reason for his coldness. If things had been different in the past, then maybe Severus wouldn't be the cold, unfeeling man he was now. Well, maybe not totally unfeeling. Digging into his pockets, Severus pulled out a piece of a photograph, on which there was a beautiful witch with emerald green eyes and flowing red hair.

_Lily…_

Even after all these years, it still hurt. The pain, the betrayal, everything. Severus still couldn't understand why she had chosen Potter over him. In the beginning she had loathed him just as much as he had, but come seventh year, all that changed, and they began going out, and, against all odds, fell in love. James had married her just a year after they had graduated. Severus, of course, had been invited to the wedding, courtesy of Lily, and, he suspected, much to the displeasure of James. But Severus had politely rejected the offer, knowing that he would not be warmly welcomed there. Not to mention that seeing Lily get married to _Potter_ of all people would be much too painful a sight for him to see.

Just as he had planned since first year, Severus had become a Death Eater, and had quickly gained the favor of the Dark Lord. He was one of the most loyal, and the most cunning. But all that loyalty shattered when Voldemort had decided to go after Lily's family after Severus had brought him the news of Sybill Trelawny's prophecy.

Panicked and worried, Severus had fled to Dumbledore, to beg him to take him in as a spy, and to do his best to protect Lily. But the Fidelius Charm had failed, because the mutt Sirius wouldn't become Secret Keeper, and the Potters had put their trust in that sniveling Pettigrew person instead. It was their last mistake.

Devastated and alone, Snape promised Dumbledore that he would help protect Lily's son, to ensure that she had not died in vain. But in the end, it had proved too difficult. Every time he looked at him, it felt as if his heart would break. _Her _eyes…in _his _face. It was almost too much to bear.

But Severus had more pressing matters to attend to. Having tuned in to _Potterwatch_ just in time to here Lupin's report on the Gringott's break-in, his mind was whirring with questions. Just who were these foreigners? He had done as much research necessary to find out, but all he could dig up were that they were extremely prominent people in Japan, due to being extremely good at a _card game_, of all things. And those Millennium Items of theirs. He had looked in the oldest textbooks the library could offer, but had only found a small snippet in an old volume labeled 'Ancient Games', depicting a paragraph about 'Shadow Games', played in Ancient Egypt, and that only those who held a Millennium Item could initiate one. This information, of course, Severus had chosen not to relay to the Dark Lord, fearing only the worst.

Sighing, he looked up at the portrait right above his desk. Albus Dumbledore was sleeping peacefully in his armchair, looking as content as a cat who had just drank its fill of milk. It was a good thing that Severus had the portrait to give him orders and advice, since the painting knew everything that the real Albus ODumbledore had known. After delivering the Sword of Godric Gryffindor, Severus had waited in the shadows of the trees for Potter to dive in. He was not counting on him almost drowning, and was about to go rescue him himself, before one of those Japanese teens had done the job for him. The boy, though rather small and slight, had a strength Severus knew that not many could match, with fierce red eyes that could halt an army in its tracks. After ensuring Potter's safety, Severus had Apparated back to Hogsmeade.

Now all he had to do was wait for the right time to tell the boy what he must do in order to defeat Voldemort. The idea was simply ridiculous to Severus, as it seemed he had (somewhat) helped protect the boy all these years for nothing. The old man hadn't even told him _why _what had to be done had to be done. Maybe he really was losing it.

But it was not yet time. Voldemort had not yet began to fear for the life of his snake, though why he would was anyone's guess. He didn't seem the type to care whether or not he lost a supporter, although he was unusually close to Nagini, and actually seemed to _care _about her.

But until then, Severus will wait. Until then, he will wait to repay Lily for all she had done for him.

Until then…

* * *

**Darkie: **TADA! I liked that last part with Snape. I never wrote so much without using dialogue before, and I'm proud of myself. ^^ Hope this chapter was satisfying! Remember my warning on the top. Everybody lend your support! Also, don't forget to review!

**Yami, Bakura, and Marik: **_-cracks knuckles- _

**Bakura: **When I get my hands on that bastard...

**Marik: **He'll be in so much trouble...

**Yami: **_-Sennen Eye glowing- _We'll make his/her life a living hell...

**The Hikaris: **_-nodding in agreement to their yamis bloodlust...for once-_


	9. Enter Draco Malfoy

**Darkie: **_-has collapsed in a dead faint-_

**Bakura: **What's up with her?

**Yugi: **_-excitedly- _She has over 100 reviews!

**Darkie: -**_pops up- _OMG OMG OMG, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! I actually have over 100 reviews!!! This is a dream come true! Now I'm gonna shoot for…150! xD

**Disclaimer: **Yu-Gi-Oh! belongs to Kazuki Takahashi (lucky bastard), and Harry Potter belongs to J. K. Rowling.

**Warnings:** Minor profanity. But then again, this is BAKURA and MARIK we're talking about; of course there's profanity!

**Dedication: **This chapter is dedicated to…**VUTI-CHAN**, our dear 100th reviewer!

---

The ex-Hogwarts-pupils and the Item-Bearers spent the majority of the flight debating on what they should do next. Harry was all for checking Hogwarts for a Horcrux, but Hermione and Ron quickly shot down that idea after arguing that Voldemort couldn't have acquired anything there on the night he applied for a job.

Bakura, Marik, and Malik suggested trying to find Voldemort himself and 'kick his arse all the way to China', but at the looks they were receiving from everybody else, they quickly quieted down. In the end, nothing was decided and the rest of the ride was spent watching Yami and Bakura duel (on the tabletop, of course). Naturally, Yami emerged victorious, leaving Bakura grumbling to himself in a corner.

Afterwards, Ron decided to test his skill by challenging Yami to a game of wizards chess. After all, Ron was the self-proclaimed Hogwarts Chess Champion, but Yami was the King of Games. Wizards chess was new to him, but he quickly got the hang of it. It was just like regular chess, after all, except you moved the pieces by commanding them, kind of like how one would command an army. And Yami was _very_ experienced in that area. After an hour of commands, several stalemates, and many broken chess pieces later, Yami was able to knock Ron's king off the board, thus ending the game.

Finally, the Blue Eye's jet landed on the roof of Kaiba's English-Kaiba Corp-branch home, and everybody clambered off and made their way into the mansion.

---

Malik gave a low whistle. "Whew! Nice place you got here, Kaiba!"

Seto just rolled his eyes in response. Pointing down the hallway, he said, "These five doors lead to your rooms. The sixth door is mine and Mokuba's. Each room has its own full-size bathroom and two twin beds. I'm warning you guys, or more specifically, Bakura, Ishtar (Malik), and Ishtahl (Marik), no vandalism, no theft, and NO. DEMOLISHING. THE. HOUSE!"

Said persons just rolled their eyes at Kaiba's warning. Muttering obscenities under his breath, Bakura pushed open the door to his chosen room and dragged Ryou inside. The others followed suit and disappeared into their own rooms.

"I sure hope the Death Eaters don't find us here, Yami," Yugi said, pulling a clean shirt over his head.

"Knowing them, they'll somehow find out about Seto's extra houses. And England will probably be the first place they look," Yami replied seriously. "We'll leave our clothes in our suitcases in case we need to make a quick getaway."

Yugi flopped down on the bed. "Why is it that we always get caught in the middle of these things?" he groaned. "I was so looking forward to a normal vacation. No magic, no Duel Monsters, no lunatics trying to take over the world…"

Yami chuckled and sat on the bed beside Yugi. "We'll find a way out of this, Aibou," he promised. "We always do."

Meanwhile, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were all in Harry and Ron's room. Hermione was rifling through the pages of a dusty old tome that probably hadn't been looked at in centuries. Harry and Ron were playing a game of wizards chess, with Ron obviously in the lead.

"Hey, what do you guys think of this Seto Kaiba guy?" Ron piped up after wiping out one of Harry's pawns. Hermione sniffed.

"I think he's an arrogant and stuck-up toerag, that's what," she stated. "Reminds me of Malfoy."

Ron made a noise of agreement. "What about you, Harry?"

Harry paused for a moment. "Well…he's a bit of a jerk, but I suppose he means well. He probably didn't have a very good childhood."

"Neither did you," Ron pointed out. "And you turned out all right."

"I s'pose," Harry conceded, before moving his knight to take out Ron's queen ("Aw, darn it!").

---

The next morning, the whole group clambered into the dining room to eat a plain breakfast of cereal, courtesy of Ryou. Seto had decided the previous night not to call in his English housing staff, so that if Voldemort found them, no lives would be unnecessarily lost.

"So…what's on the agenda today?" Malik asked nobody in particular.

"Well, we still have to find out where You-Know-Who is keeping his last two Horcruxes," Hermione replied.

"We know that one of them is his snake, Nagini," Harry interjected. "But we can't get to her without finding him, so we'll have to save that for last. The last Horcrux is probably something of Ravenclaw's."

"Ravenclaw?" Ryou asked.

"One of the four founders of Hogwarts," Hermione explained. "Each one has their own special artifact. The Sword of Godric Gryffindor, the Locket of Salazar Slytherin, the Cup of Helena Hufflepuff, and Rowena Ravenclaw is sure to have left something behind."

"What about her diadem?" Ron piped up. "Didn't Ravenclaw have a diadem that granted the wearer wisdom or something?"

"Yes, Ron," Hermione said. "But the Lost Diadem…is 'lost'. That's sort of the point."

"When was it last seen?" Yugi asked.

"Nobody knows," Hermione said. "It disappeared when she died."

"What _is_ a diadem?" Bakura asked.

"I believe it's a tiara of sorts. Kind of like a crown," Yami answered, to everybody's surprise. Marik thunked his head on the table.

"Great, now what? If Ravenclaw's diadem thingy is lost, then what's the last Horcrux?" he groaned. Harry shrugged.

"We could start by checking some various places that You-Know-Who's been in his past," Hermione suggested smartly.

"But we've already checked the orphanage…where else could there be one except Hogwarts?" Harry argued. "It was the one place that he ever called home, after being stuck in an orphanage all those years."

"Yes, but as Hermione pointed out to us, You-Know-Who," Ryou said, careful not to use his name, "never got the job he asked for. So unless he already had the Horcrux with him when he got there…"

"That's it!" Bakura burst out. "He must have already made a Horcrux, and applying for a job was the only way to hide it in Hogwarts!"

"And if he _did_ end up getting the job, it would be like killing two birds with one stone!" Malik finished excitedly. Harry and Ron looked at each other excitedly at this revelation, while Hermione still looked skeptical.

"Hold on a second," Yami raised his arms. "We can't go rushing into this headfirst. We need to think of a plan. Didn't you guys mention before that Hogwarts has extremely tight security?"

"It does," Hermione agreed. "Witches and Wizards can't apparate directly onto the grounds, and I'll bet that Hogsmeade has been protected too."

Bakura scoffed. "It won't be able to detect us if we use the Shadows to get in," he retorted.

Yami uttered a low oath before turning to face the thief. "That may be true for us," he said slowly. "But you have to think of Harry, Ron, and Hermione. They can't use the shadows to enter Hogwarts! Not to mention we haven't been there before, so we can't use the Shadows to get there! Use your head for once, Tomb Robber, and consider everybody else's wellbeing!"

"Caring about everybody's wellbeing and risking your neck for them is _your_ job, Pharaoh," Bakura spat out the last word as though it were poison on his tongue. "The only person I am charged with protecting is Ryou."

"Do you even care---?" Yami began, but was silenced by a look from Yugi, whereas Ryou dragged Bakura back down to his chair. For the rest of their discussion, Yami and Bakura refused to acknowledge the other's presence.

Everybody sighed. This was going to take a while.

---

Draco Malfoy laid back on the large four poster bed in his room, trying to tune out his parents and Aunt Bella's arguing. Aunt Bellatrix had woken up not too long ago, and she had been positively livid when she had found out that Potter and his friends had gotten away. She was probably ranting about it right now to his parents, who, Draco believed, didn't really give a damn.

Over the past year and a half, Draco had begun to realize the price of living in a family of Death Eaters. His parents never had time for him now that the Dark Lord was back. They were always off doing his dirty work, since apparently the snake-bastard was too afraid to go do it himself. Yes, Draco had lost most of his respect for the Dark Lord Voldemort. His disgust of muggles and mudbloods was getting rather tiring, although Draco agreed with him wholeheartedly. But the wizard himself wasn't even a Pure-Blood, and he thought he could tell them what to do! Draco had found out a while ago that Lord Voldemort was in fact Tom Riddle, born from a muggle man and a witch. His parents knew as well, he suspected, but chose to ignore it and pretend otherwise.

Draco wondered what Potter was up to now. No doubt he was on the run again from Lord Snake. His mind wandered back to that night in the mansion, when Greyback had somehow, miraculously, managed to capture the Golden Trio. For a moment, Draco had actually thought that it was all over, and that the Dark Lord had finally achieved his goal. But then of course, _they_ came. Those Japanese muggles…no, they weren't muggles, of that Draco was sure. Muggles was the wizard term for non-magical folk. These Asian teenagers obviously had magic. But they couldn't be called 'wizards' either. They're magic had a _presence_ to it, almost like it was an entity in itself. As though the shadows that took over the front hall had been _alive._

_When the hell did you start thinking so…deep?_ Draco asked himself dryly.

"Draco!" His father's voice echoed through the house. Sighing, Draco forced himself to get up.

"Coming!" he called, before stepping out into the hallway and making his way to the living room. When he got there, his mother was sitting primly on the armchair, while Bellatrix was nowhere to be seen, having most likely gone up to her room to rest. "What do you want?" he asked his father, who was standing in the middle of the room with a blank expression on his face.

"Our family is falling out of favor of the Dark Lord," he stated. Draco resisted the urge to snort. _Well, obviously_, he thought. "It is up to you to make sure we rise to the top again."

"Why me?" Draco asked bewilderedly. Lucius Malfoy rolled his eyes.

"Because I no longer have a wand, and your mother is in no position to do anything about it!" he snarled. "It's up to you to make sure that our family is once again in the Dark Lord's good graces."

"What's in it for me?" Draco asked, crossing his arms. His father looked scandalized.

"The Dark Lord's favor, of course! The honor of being among the Dark Lord's most trusted allies!"

"'Most trusted allies?'" Draco asked incredulously. "The Dark Lord doesn't 'trust' anybody! And the Death Eaters aren't allies; they're _servants_. I don't get why we have to do what that great Half-Blood says."

"How dare you!" his father growled. "Do not defile the Dark Lord's name in this house!"

"If you ask me," Draco retorted. "I think all the promises of power are getting to your head! Sure, he _says_ he wants to build an empire where only Purebloods thrive, and Mudbloods are persecuted, but what makes you think things will be all better after that? The snake's probably just trying take over the world just like in those mad muggle fairytales, without sharing his power with any of us like he says he will! I don't know about you, but I think you Death Eaters worship him too much to think about the consequences!" With that, he stormed out of the room, leaving his father gaping after him.

An expensive vase hit the opposite wall and smashed into a million pieces. Draco kicked at the wall with his foot, hissing at the newly formed pain in his toes. Grumbling to himself, he locked the door with a wave of his wand and collapsed on the bed, staring up at the fancy ceiling.

It was always 'The Dark Lord' this, and 'The Dark Lord' that, Draco thought angrily; always worshipping the ground that wizard walked on, and groveling at his feet. It was sickening. Draco didn't want any part of it anymore. He rolled up the sleeve of his left arm and glared at the Dark Mark branded on his skin. He scratched and rubbed at it, as though that would make it go away. It didn't.

Glancing at the door, Draco sighed again. He knew what he wanted to do. After all, Draco Malfoy took orders from no one. Not anymore.

Getting up off the bed, he went to his wardrobe, pulling out his leather briefcase. Snapping it open, he dumped out all his school stuff and packed it with clothes, along with a roll of parchment, ink, and a quill, just in case. He packed way more than the small briefcase could seemingly carry, but with the help of a spell, he could fit as much stuff as he liked. Afterwards, he dragged it over to his fireplace, where he reached into a small pot and withdrew and handful of Floo Powder. It was time for him to go back to school. He had been traveling in between his house and the school all year, and the Carrows allowed it, since his parents and himself were Death Eaters. None of the other Slytherins questioned him. After all, he was Draco Malfoy.

"Slytherin Common Room!"

A whir of green fire and various fireplaces later, he landed on the Slytherin Common Room carpet with a thump. Grumbling to himself, he got up and dusted the soot off of his robes, before taking a look around to make sure nobody saw. As expected, the common room was empty. It _was_ lunch time after all. He crept cautiously over to the common room entrance and pushed open the door, glancing around the stone hallway to make sure nobody was lingering in the corridors. Muttering a soft spell under his breath, he covered himself with a Disillusionment Charm. Glancing at his now non-existent reflection in the chest-plate of a suit of armor, he strode confidently upstairs out of the dungeons, having taken off his shoes so that his sock-covered feet made no noise upon the marble floor.

He passed through the deserted corridors unhindered. Quickly, he made his way to the seventh floor, in front of a stretch of blank wall. Casting off his charm, as he wouldn't need it anymore, he proceeded to pace the length of the hall, asking for entrance to a hiding place, anywhere where he could escape from his parents and the Carrows. On his third time passing the wall, he heard a click, and turned to see an ornately carved wooden door in front of him. Grinning to himself, he pushed it open and entered the dark room, shutting the door behind him. Before he could do anything else, however, a voice behind him caused him to freeze.

"What the bloody hell are you doing in here?!"

---

**Darkie: **_-grins evilly- _

**Harry, Ron, and Hermione: **O__O

**Draco: **TT_TT Why me?

**Darkie: **Heh heh…well, I got kind of…bored.

**Yami: **_-dryly- _You don't say.

**Darkie: **Shut up Yami. And you four, stop staring at me like I've gone crazy!

**Yugi: **^w^ Pwease review! And don't mind Darkie's last demand on people who newly subscribe have to review or else no chapter. She was just in one of her 'moods'. You don't _have_ to review anymore when you subscribe.

**Ryou: **Although it'd be greatly appreciated if you do! After all, if you're new reading this story and subscribe to it, the least you can do is review. And if you like it enough to favorite…we _implore_ you to review!


	10. Draco Malfoy: Friend or Foe?

**Darkie: **Now that I've finally managed to log onto FF, because of the stupid glitch yesterday that prevented me from doing so, here's the next chapter! Because of summer break, I'm stuck at home doing nothing…although it looks like I probably won't achieve my goal of finishing my YGO/DN crossover by the time school starts. I'm just too lazy to rack my brain right now. xD Now, because I left you hanging at the end of the last chapter, I'm going to skip the crap and let you read the chapter!

* * *

**Room of Recquirement, Hogwarts

* * *

**

Draco whirled around to find himself face to face with…well…several people. The one who had shouted out was Seamus Finnigan, who Draco noticed looked a little worse for the wear. He also recognized several more seventh year faces. Neville Longbottom…Parvati and Padma Patil…Terry Boot…Michael Corner…Ernie Macmillan…with a shock, Draco realized that these were all people who had been part of Dumbledore's Army in their fifth year, and who had seemed to make it their life's goal to annoy the hell out of the Carrows and Snape earlier in the school year, before they had all but disappeared. So this was where they had been hiding all these months!

"How did you get in here? I specifically asked the room that no Carrow-supporters could enter!" Neville exclaimed, staring at Draco as though he had grown an extra head. Murmurs erupted throughout the room. Everybody was glaring at Draco suspiciously, and the words he could here coming out of their mouths weren't exactly complimentary.

"Well, then, Longbottom," he sneered, trying not to show how unnerved he was at the moment. "You should've asked that no _Slytherins_ were able to get in instead. Not all us snakes support the Carrows, you know."

"Why wouldn't you?" Parvati Patil retorted. "You're father's a Death Eater in You-Know-Who's inner circle!"

"Inner circle my arse!" Draco shot back. "My father fell out of that great snake's favor quite a while ago, and now he's desperate to rise to the top again! Not that he could, given that he hasn't got a wand…"

"Your father lost his wand? How?" Terry Boot asked in confusion. Draco glared at him, angry at himself for letting that information slip.

"None of your business, Boot!" he snarled. "The point is, I was getting sick of it all, so I came here!"

"Are you trying to tell us that you don't support You-Know-Who anymore?" Seamus asked in disbelief. "You're a Malfoy, for Pete's sake!"

Draco's patience snapped. "Look, I don't care what you lot think about me!" he shouted. "I'll just stay in my own part of this thrice-damned room and you all can do what you like as long as you stay out of my way!" With that said, he stalked to the back of the room, where there was an emerald-green velvet curtain with a snake on it cutting off a corner of the room. Shoving himself through it, he found a small four poster bed, much like the one in his dormitory, along with a small bathroom stall and a sink.

Draco laid back on the bed and wished for something to read. Immediately, an issue of the day's _Daily Prophet_ popped into existence on his beside table, and he picked it up and stared at the front page. A new picture had been added to the former seven pictures of the Japanese teens and Harry Potter. Seto Kaiba's stoic face now glared out at him from the black and white page.

'_Wanted: Seto Kaiba_

_Reward: 10,000 galleons.'_

Snorting, Draco rifled through the rest of the _Prophet _to see if there was anything interesting to read. When no interesting headlines jumped out at him, he placed the newspaper back on the bedside table and proceeded to stare at the drapes hanging over his bed.

A rustle of fabric distracted Draco from his musing, and he turned his head to see none other than Neville Longbottom coming through the curtains. His gaze hardened.

"What do you want, Longbottom?" he drawled. Neville met his gaze steadily, and it struck Draco how much the Gryffindor had changed from the shy, forgetful boy he had once been. An image of Draco stealing the guy's Remembrall in his first year popped into his head, and he quickly shook it away.

"Why are you really here?"

The question caught Draco by surprise and he sat up on the mattress. He looked at Neville with narrowed eyes, but only sensed genuine curiosity behind the question. Finally, he answered,

"I wanted to escape."

His reply seemed to have caught Neville off guard. "What do you mean?"

"Being a Death Eater…it wasn't all it was cracked up to be," Draco said. "You know the Dark Lord isn't even Pureblood."

"He isn't?" Neville asked. Draco shook his head.

"He's a Half-blood," he replied. "Had a muggle for a father." His gaze hardened once more. "And he thinks he can tell us Purebloods what to do. I got sick of my parents catering to his every whim…worshipping the ground he stood on. It was sickening. I wanted out."

Neville remained silent. Draco took this as a sign to continue.

"When I became a Death Eater…I thought I was doing my family a favor. My mother said that I was making up for my father's mistakes…but in the end," Draco's voice dropped to a low murmur, which Neville had to strain to hear, "it wasn't worth it. None of it was." His voice rose again, and it now had a distinctive edge to it. "Draco Malfoy takes orders from no one. Not anymore."

Neville remained silent. Draco thought he was going to leave, before his arm was grabbed by a firm hand. He looked at the boy in surprise.

"Come and join us for lunch," Neville said, leading a bewildered Draco out of his 'room'. Sure enough, there was an old man, at least as old as Dumbledore, standing in front of a tunnel in the wall, dishing out food and butterbeer. When he caught sight of Draco, his pale eyebrows raised.

"Well well well, this is a surprise," he rasped out. "What in the name of the heavens is a Malfoy doin' 'ere?"

Draco was about to make a snappy remark, but Neville beat him to it. "This is Draco Malfoy, Aberforth," he explained. "He's with us."

Aberforth's eyebrows rose to his practically nonexistent hairline, but he shrugged it off and gave Draco a butterbeer and a plate of food, which consisted of a slab of steak and a wedge of pumpkin pie. Draco made to go back to his enclosure, but Neville grabbed a fistful of his robes and dragged him over to where everybody else was sitting on a large plush carpet in the middle of the room. Suspicious eyes found his figure as he sat down uncomfortably beside Neville, and Draco tried his best to ignore the gazes and whispers, instead focusing on his food.

"_Do you think he's spying on us?"_

"_Must be. Why else would he be here?"_

"_It's probably all an act."_

Draco's patience meter was reaching its maximum and he slammed his plate down on the carpet before glaring at the rest of the students.

"Will you all quit whispering about me?" he hissed. "I'm right here you know, and I'm not deaf!"

This effectively shut most of them up, and the ones who were still whispering were silenced by a look from Neville.

* * *

After a few hours, the seventh years had warmed up considerably to the blonde. They didn't trust him completely, but after he made no move to try anything, and was even polite to them, they quit muttering about it. Although, Draco had to admit, the politeness was forced on his part, and he only did it because Neville said it'd stop the whispers.

When dinner time came around, the students even tried to include Draco in their conversations, although he never really had anything to say.

"_And so I suppose there still isn't any word on the whereabouts of Harry Potter and company?" _Lee Jordan's voice emanated from the large wooden wireless. Draco hung at the back of the group, listening in on the report.

"_Afraid not, River," _Remus Lupin replied. _"But we do have a guest today that may provide us information on the Japanese teenagers. Please welcome…uh…what name would you like to go by, miss?"_

"_Isis is fine," _a slightly accented female voice replied. The DA looked at each other in bewilderment. Who was this woman, and what information could she possibly give them?

"_Very well, Isis. What information can you divulge to us about these mysterious youths?" _Lee asked.

"_They mean this world no harm. I am confident that they shall help Harry Potter in any way that they can," _Isis replied steadily. Draco suddenly had the image of a tall, beautiful woman with piercing eyes and a commanding presence to match her voice.

"_And what relation do you have to these mysterious teens, Isis?" _Remus questioned.

"_I am but a Priestess and former guardian to one of them," _Isis replied vaguely._ "I must admit that I foresaw these events when I sent them all out to England for vacation," _the mysterious woman replied.

"'_Foresaw'? Are you a seer, perhaps?" _Lee asked.

"_No. I gave up my Seeing abilities long ago. I believe it is what you call 'a gut feeling'."_

"_And what information do you have on the power of these kids?" _Kingsley Shacklebolt joined the conversation. A pause.

"_That information is classified, I am afraid. My family has guarded these secrets for thousands of years. It would be unwise to divulge such information during these times. I have reason to believe that there is already a traitor in my clan's midst. How else could your Dark Lord have found out about the Millennium Items in the first place? All I will say is that each item holds a special power, and, if fallen into the wrong hands, may cause destruction that world hasn't seen in 3,000 years." _Isis said.

"_We had received word on the Chief Death Eater's interest in these artifacts quite a while ago. This information you have given us is a cause for much worry. Any last words, Isis?"_

Another pause.

"_I want to leave a message for his Highness, the Pharaoh, from the Guardian of the Items," _Isis finally answered. _"'Only by working together may you defeat this foe. Only when darkness gets over its difference with darkness, and sees each other as friends and equals, may you succeed. Darkness and Light must work together, but this cannot happen if the Darkness is divided. This may be your greatest challenge yet, prr-aA.'"_

"_The Pharaoh? Who is that? And was that some sort of prophecy?" _Remus asked.

"_It was merely some advice that the Pharaoh and his comrades would do well to heed," _Isis answered vaguely once again_. "Good day, wizards. May Ra be with you." _And with that, footsteps were heard, and everybody knew that the mysterious woman had left the studio.

* * *

**Kaiba Mansion in Great Britain

* * *

**

Yugi turned off the wireless and glanced behind him at the three yamis who were currently glaring daggers at each other. Bakura and Marik had retreated to one side of the room, while Yami glared at them from his place at the opposite side. If looks could kill…well, let's say that all three of them would be ten feet under by now.

Malik, however, was still staring at the wireless as though it had just turned into a jackrabbit.

"How in the name of Duat did Ishizu find out about all this?!" he exclaimed, fuming at his sister's secrecy and hidden purposes. Why couldn't she just straight out and tell them the answers for once?

"She also left us a message from Shadi," Ryou noted. "Although, judging from their reactions, our yamis don't seem too happy about it."

"No kidding," Yugi muttered, before walking over to Yami. "Come on, Yami. You heard him_. 'Only when darkness gets over its difference with darkness, and sees each other as friends and equals, may you succeed.'_ You three have to get over your differences and work together."

"Like hell," Yami muttered mutinously. "Bakura and Marik are impossible to reason with."

Yugi sighed. Across the room, Ryou and Malik were having similar problems.

"Come on, Bakura," Ryou pleaded. "You've been at each other's throats from the moment we went on this vacation. Can't you do what Shadi says?"

"I don't take orders from a dead thousand-year-old spirit!" Bakura snapped. Ryou decided not to comment that Bakura himself was a dead thousand-year-old spirit.

"Bakura, I'm fine with," Marik growled. "The Pharaoh, no way."

"Oh puh-lease!" Malik groaned. "It's not like he's still in your way of taking over the world!"

"That's because I don't want to right now!" Marik retorted. "If I did want to take over the world, you can bet he'll be in my way again!"

Ryou and Malik groaned.

_::Guys?::_

_::Yugi?:: _Ryou answered. They had not used the hikari mind link for some time.

_::What do you think we should do? They won't seem to listen to reason.:: _Malik joined in.

_::There's only one thing we can do right now…::_ Yugi sighed through the link.

Meanwhile, the darks were gazing at their hikaris suspiciously. Judging from their blank stares, they figured that they were plotting something through their mind link, and all three Egyptians braced themselves for the worst. Finally, their gazes cleared and the hikaris looked up at their yamis with grins on their faces.

Yugi widened his eyes as wide as they would go, allowing small tears to escape out of their corners. His mouth slid into an adorable pout, and he hugged Yami's middle.

"Pweeeaase, Yami? Be friends with Bakura and Marik? For me?" he whimpered. Ryou and Malik were using the same tactic on their yamis.

"Gack! No, Ryou, definitely not going to work this time!" Bakura cried, shielding his eyes from the adorable image. Marik and Yami did the same. The three hikaris turned on their eyes full blast, allowing fake tears to trickle down their cheeks, and their lips to quiver. Bakura, Marik, and Yami visibly cringed.

"THE ANSWER'S STILL NO!!!" With that, Bakura and Marik fled up the stairs. Yami was left in the room with the others, blinking at the place where the two psychos used to be. Then, he turned to Yugi.

"I hope your not going to ask for me to go reason with them, because you know that if I attempt to I'm going to be eaten alive," he said matter-of-factly. Yugi, Ryou, and Malik sighed. Yami was right; they couldn't ask him to go brave Bakura and Marik alone to try and make amends.

"But they heard what Shadi said," Ryou complained. "If you guys don't work together, we'll fail, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione's world will be in big trouble."

Yami's eyes softened. "It's not my place to decide. I can't work together with them if they don't want me to." With that, he, too, turned to go upstairs, only stopping to say, "Don't get me wrong, I'd like nothing more than to bury the hatchet and start over…but that can't happen if they don't cooperate."

Footsteps were heard, followed by the shutting of a door, signifying that Yami had retreated to his room.

From the sofa, Ron turned to Harry and Hermione.

"What the hell was that about?"

* * *

**Darkie: **_-wipes away imaginary tear- _Aaaww, Yami's lacking some love from his fellow yamis! Well, maybe not love…but…uh…FRIENDSHIP! FRIENDSHIP RULES ALL!! Everybody send him a virtual hug! _-glomp tackles Yami- _

**Yami: **_-glares at Darkie while trying to pry her off of him- _You're starting to sound like Anzu.

**Harry: **Um…so what was that all about?

**Darkie: **Well…since this story is kind of not exactly AU…all that shit that happened in the original Yugioh series happened, except the ending was kind of…twisted around so that yami's stayed and got their own bodies. So, BECAUSE of that, Bakura and Marik should still hate Yami, and Yami…er…_strongly dislikes_ them. So I needed a way to get them all to be friends by the end of the story.

**Ryou: **_-sweats- _I think 'friends' might be pushing it a bit, Darkie.

**Darkie: **Hmmm…you're right. Maybe…uh…_friendly or not-so-friendly acquaintances_? _-grins- _

**Bakura and Marik: **Why would we want to be friends with the PHARAOH?

**Darkie: **_-glares- _Because this is MY story, so what I say GOES! DEAL WITH IT!

**Next time: **I've been neglecting Harry-tachi, eh? Well, have no fear! The next chapter shall have more insight on Harry's thoughts! Maybe...probably...well...we'll see.


	11. The Extremely Short Chapter

**Darkie: **EEEK!!! _-dodges knives thrown by readers- _I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY!!! _-cries- _I know it's been a long time since I've updated. Gomenasai!!! _-bows Japanese style- _

**Yami: **It's about time.

**Darkie: **_-continues to cry- _I know I know, but I just couldn't find the motivation to finish this chapter! I'm starting to run out of ideas. If it wasn't for the fact that this story has over a hundred thirty reviews, I'd probably have taken it down. _-dodges rotten tomatoes- _

**Disclaimer: **Harry Potter belongs to J. K. Rowling. Yu-Gi-Oh! belongs to Kazuki Takahashi.

**Darkie: **I'm sorry this chapter is so short, but I really wanted to update today, but couldn't think of anything else to put in this chapter. I promise the next chapter will have more action! So I hope you enjoy this 1,201 word chapter!

* * *

**Headmaster's Office, Howarts**

**

* * *

**

Severus Snape was not in a good mood. The students of Hogwarts were causing more trouble then ever before, especially those damn Gryffindors. But he supposed it was to be expected; they all believed him to be one of the Dark Lord's most trusted Death Eaters.

If only they knew…

But the students' behavior was the least of Severus's problems. He had once again lost track of where Potter was, and if he didn't know where Potter was, he wouldn't be able to pass on Dumbledore's message to him when the time arrived. Cursing, Snape paced the length of his office, trying to think of ways to find the boy and his friends. He turned to one of the portraits on the far wall, where a weedy looking wizard was apparently dozing.

"Nigellus!" he barked. The wizard jumped to attention immediately. Phineas Nigellus, a former headmaster of Hogwarts, and the only Slytherin to have ever received the job. He had been the one to notify Severus when Potter had been in the Forest of Dean, allowing him to ensure that he found Gryffindor's sword.

"Yes, headmaster?" the weedy wizard asked silkily. Snape's eyes narrowed.

"I want you to return to your other portrait. Try to find out where Potter and his friend's are. NOW," he added as Phineas made no immediate movement. The wizard bowed hastily, before running off into the side of the frame, disappearing from view. Sighing, Severus, sat down in his, no, _Dumbledore's_ winged armchair, placing a hand on his forehead.

"You mustn't be so tense, Severus," a wizened-sounding voice emanated from behind him. The named person turned around sharply to look at the occupant of a large portrait sitting above and behind the desk. A pair of sky blue eyes twinkled merrily at him from behind half-moon-shaped spectacles.

"It's hard not to be tense when the students are running amok, Dumbledore," Severus replied dryly. To his annoyance, Albus Dumbledore merely chuckled merrily, shaking his head softly.

"Alas, Severus," he chided. "You must learn to be more cheerful. Think of the joys in life, not the sad parts."

"Yes, there really is a lot of _joy_ around with the Dark Lord and his Death Eaters killing people left, right, and center, isn't there," Snape replied sarcastically. For once, Dumbledore had no reply.

* * *

**Kaiba Mansion, London, England**

**

* * *

**

"Die, you stupid monster, DIE!" Ron's voice emanated around the mansion, as he, Harry, Yugi, Malik, and Mokuba sat in front of the large Plasma screen TV, playing on Mokuba's GameCube.

"Damn it, Yugi, you won again!" Malik exclaimed, tossing the controller into the air in frustration. Mokuba sweatdropped.

"Well, he _is_ the King of Games, next to Yami," he reasoned, not as disappointed about the loss as Malik was.

"And you'd think he'd be used to it by now," Bakura muttered from the loveseat, where he was sitting next to Ryou. Marik was lying on his stomach in front of the TV, watching the others begin another round of the fighting game. Yami still hadn't come down from upstairs. To say that Yugi was concerned was an understatement.

The young amethyst-eyed teen had never really taken into consideration the relationship that his yami had with the other yamis. After years of listening to them argue and brawl, he had begun taking them for granted. He had never considered the possibility that perhaps Yami would want to befriend them. Perhaps he felt left out, in a way, being the odd yami out, and the only one with a conscience, at that. It made sense, Yugi reasoned as he killed another ogre. Innocent people like him, Ryou, and Malik--er, well, maybe not so much Malik, couldn't very well be the only company a darkness like Yami keeps. Perhaps he just needed some friends he could relate to. People like Bakura and Marik, who had shared his experiences in Egypt, and who would be able to understand.

But Yugi knew very well that it wasn't that simple. Bakura and Marik still hated Yami with a passion, for reasons that were not his, nor his father's fault. They had never shown any indication of trying to make amends, and Yugi had a feeling they wouldn't try any time soon.

Sighing, Yugi set down his controller and leaned back on the sofa, causing the others, who were still playing, to look at him in confusion. He ignored this, however, and looked up at the ceiling, wishing that he could do something to help his darkness. But he knew that this was something between Yami, Bakura, and Marik. It was not his place to interfere.

* * *

Yami stared up at the ceiling, face blank, though his mind was whirring with thoughts. Why did Bakura and Marik hate him so much? It wasn't _his_ fault that their village was destroyed, and yet they blame _his_ father, and, by default, him. Did they actually expect him to apologize for something he had nothing to do with? If they had thought that his father had done it, and in turn blamed him, they now knew the truth. If anything, they should be directing their hatred towards Kaiba. It was _his_ past self's father who committed the crime.

Life just wasn't fair sometimes.

Letting out a long sigh, Yami sat up on his bed and recalled his abrupt departure from downstairs. By the sounds of Malik's cursing, Yugi had beat him yet again at some kind of game. And he had heard Marik and Bakura descend the stairs a while ago. Which meant he was the only one being unsociable…well, aside from Kaiba, who was probably somewhere typing on his laptop.

Suddenly, he heard a movement that seemed to come from outside. Ruby eyes narrowed, he slowly got off the bed and made his way towards the double doors that led to the balcony. The sky was dark outside, and his every instinct was telling him that going out to look was a bad idea. But it could be just a harmless stray cat…but what if it wasn't? If Yami ignored it, whatever it was could make its way downstairs and harm Yugi and the others. So it was with great trepidation that he turned the handle, opened the door, and stepped out onto the dark balcony.

All seemed peaceful. The half moon was high in the sky, and the large trees growing close to the balcony were bare and leafless in the face of winter. Not a creature stirred. Yami's red gaze swept around the spacious garden down below. After a few moments, he came to the conclusion that whatever had made that noise out here had probably been a bird or cat, and had already left. Turning around, the ancient pharaoh began to reenter his bedroom.

A swooping sound was heard in the air behind him, and Yami turned around, startled, to find himself face to face with a cloaked and masked figure. Before the young man could activate his Millennium Puzzle, something heavy hit him on the back of the head, and he fell to the ground, clutching the injury. One last thought went through his mind before it succumbed to darkness.

_Gomenasai…minna…_

_

* * *

_

**Darkie: **_-is now hiding under her bed while a mob of angry readers look for her- _

**Yami: **WHAT THE FUCK?!?!

**Darkie: **EEEK! I'M SORRY! But I needed some motivation for the next chapter, and that involves me knowing what the next chapter will include. The reason this chapter took so long is because I had no idea what to put in it. Now, however, I know exactly what will be in the next chapter. _-smiles weakly- _

**Yami: **_-backs off grumbling- _Fine, I guess I can forgive you this once.

**Darkie: **Thank you! _-glomps Yami- _Hmmm...I suddenly have the urge to watch _Sweeney Todd_ again...

**Yugi: **Again? That's what, the fourth time in two days? O_o

**Darkie: **_-gets defensive- _It's a good movie! It stars Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Darter, Alan Rickman, and that other dude who plays Peter Pettigrew in Harry Potter! It's like a movie for famous British actors/actresses! (if you don't know who they are, look it up) xD Plus it's a musical about a barber who kills his customers and gives them to the baker woman to bake in her meat pies. _-nods- _:3 But there's a lot of blood...

**Next Time: **Expect a lot of swearing (mainly from Yami at letting himself get kidnapped, and from Bakura, Seto, and Marik for having it happen right under their noses). Some hysterically upset and crying Yugi. Also some Voldemort. And a lot of Cruciatus Curse. Let's just say that by the end of the next chapter, Yami is going to be pret-ty disheveled...and possibly limping...maybe a few broken bones...maybe comatose...it depends on my mood. xD All I'll say is he probably won't reunite with the others until a while later...and then he's gonna get hurt again. Oops, did I just say that? xD

**Yami:** x_________x Why me?

**Darkie: **_-hugs Yami- _I just love messin' with ya. x3


	12. In which the author rises from the dead

**Darkie: **_-tries to slip into the room undetected- _

**Ron: **_-catches sight of Darkie as she attempts to enter her bomb shelter- _Oh my god, it's DARKIE!

**Harry: **_-gasps- _Really?!?! She's still alive! I thought she was dead!

**Hermione: **It's a miracle!

**Draco: **Where the BLOODY HELL have you been?!?!

**Darkie: **_-is visibly unhappy at being caught- _Er...oh, wow! Hi guys! Long time no see, eh?!? _-waves 'cheerfully'-_

**Draco: **It's been FOUR MONTHS, YOU--_(the following words have been censored to protect the innocent)_

**Darkie: **_-clutches at her bleeding ears- _Eeek! I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry! I was just soo into my Puzzleshipping fic, I completely forgot about this one, until I saw the date of my last update and went 'Holy SHIT! It's been four months!'. Good thing I had already finished this chapter...although it's still kind of short...and cheesy.

* * *

_Thump._

Seto Kaiba looked up from his typing, startled, as did everybody else in the spacious living room. Cobalt eyes narrowed, and the young man carefully set down his laptop before standing up, Yugi following suit by his side.

"What was that?" Malik asked. "It sounded like something heavy hit the ground."

"Do you think Yami's hurt?" Ryou asked Yugi, who was staring up at the ceiling with a blank expression. His eyes were glazed over, and he wasn't moving. Malik, Ryou, Marik, and Bakura recognized that Yugi was trying to contact Yami through mindlink.

Suddenly, Yugi's eyes cleared, his amethyst orbs bright with concern.

"I can't reach him. Either he's blocked me, or he's unconscious," he murmured, before turning to dash up the stairs, Ryou and Malik following suit with their yamis. Harry, Ron, and Hermione got up soon after them, but preferred to walk cautiously up to their destination along with Seto and Mokuba.

The Hogwarts students arrived on the landing just as Yugi was opening the door to his and Yami's room. Everybody scrambled in, scanning the apparently empty bedroom.

"He's not in the bathroom either," Marik called out from said location. Harry, however, wasn't listening. Instead, he made his way slowly over to the doors to the balcony, which were slightly ajar. Grasping the golden knob, he swung open the door, prepared to find Yami leaning against the rail and looking out towards the backyard. But the balcony was empty.

Harry gave the balcony a once-look-over, before something small and shiny caught his eye. Walking over to the railing, he squinted through the darkness at the thing, which seemed to be hanging off a tree branch. Tentatively, he reached out and unhooked the object, bringing it up close to his face.

It was a torn piece of what appeared to be black leather, on which was imbedded a shiny silver buckle. A gasp sounded from behind Harry, and he turned to find Yugi staring at the piece of fabric with something akin to horror.

"They got him. The Death Eaters," Harry said unnecessarily. Everybody was now looking at Yugi, who seemed to be on the verge of collapse. The young man's hands were clasped over his mouth, and his eyes were wide and filled with tears.

"Yami," he whispered. "Oh no."

* * *

(A/N: Wow, that was overly dramatic and very cheesy. Oh well, moving on…)

* * *

Yami woke up to find himself in a dark, dank place. The walls were made of stone, and the smell of death and decay nearly smothered the former Pharaoh. Head throbbing, he clutched at a scratch on his abdomen, where a piece of fabric had been torn off somehow. He tried to move his legs and arms further, but found that they were cuffed and shackled to the wall.

This was turning into a great vacation all right…

"I see you're awake," a cold, raspy voice sounded somewhere in the room. Yami turned to stare into the gloom, his eyes finally making out a hooded figure on the opposite side here a heavy wooden door.

"Why have you taken me here?" he growled in what he hoped was a menacing voice. However, exhaustion complete with a mounting headache only made his voice sound feathery and weak. The figure cackled.

"Our Lord wishes to see you now, _Pharaoh_," he hissed his former title in a mocking tone, before Yami felt himself released from his confines. Before you could do anything, though, his hands were soon once again bound behind his back with heavy rope, and another rope went around his neck like a noose, with the Death Eater holding the other end.

"Come now. My Lord does not like to be kept waiting."

Yami was lead through a series of dark hallways, the only light emanating from the tip of the wizard's wand. Finally, the floor started to rise, and soon Yami was thrust into a small room lit with a fireplace with bookshelves along the walls. A tall, bald figure was standing in front of the hearth, and when Yami caught sight of fierce red eyes with slitted pupils, he knew that he had come face to face with none other than Lord Voldemort himself.

The dark wizard turned towards him, fully revealing his pale and snake-like face, on which a sadistic leer was forming. He bowed to Yami deeply.

"I am _honored_ to be graced by the presence of such a great and noble ruler as yourself," he hissed, and Yami knew he was being mocked.

"Why have you brought me here?" he demanded to know, but the wizard simply shook his head, a sneer on his face.

"Ah ah ah," he said, shaking a long and thin finger. "We mustn't rush now. After all, we have plenty of time. Now, take a seat…"

Yami suddenly found himself forced into a hard wooden chair, his arms free, but almost immediately bound yet again by chains that magically sprouted from the arms of the chair. Then, to the spirit's horror, the chains morphed into snakes, coiling and slithering around his arms, their slimy scales sending shivers down Yami's spine. The snakes, two Egyptian cobras, ironically, raised their hooded heads and hissed at him.

"Now, I am going to ask you a question. And you are going to answer it _truthfully_," Voldemort hissed, and Yami glared back defiantly. If this snake-man thought he could order him around, then he was sorely mistaken. He resisted the urge to shiver again as the snakes elongated and coiled around his neck.

"What is Harry Potter and his silly little friends planning?"

Yami started at the question, and chose his answer very carefully.

"I don't know. You'll have to ask them," he replied evenly. The Dark Lord's eyes flashed angrily, and he walked over so that he towered over Yami's already small stature.

"I knew that it would take more than that to get an answer out of you," he said menacingly. "So I guess we'll have to resort to some…_alternate_ measures. _Crucio_!"

The young man doubled over in pain, twitching violently. Lord Voldemort smirked in satisfaction and after a few moments, lifted the curse, leaving Yami shuddering and gasping. When he looked up, however, his red eyes were still shining with defiance.

_So Bellatrix was right about this boy. He is unusually resistant to the Cruciatus Curse. But no matter. He'll just need a little more persuasion than normal…perhaps even more than the Longbottom fools_, Voldemort thought nonchalantly.

"I ask you again: What are they planning?"

"I…don't…know…ARGH!"

Yami once again doubled over, and the snakes around his arms loosened and fell away, causing him to fall to his knees in front of the chair. His eyes were shut tight, and his teeth were clenched, holding back screams that were fighting to come out. But he wouldn't let himself seem weak…he had to stay strong for his friends….

* * *

"How the hell could this happen?!" Bakura's shout emanated throughout the whole house. Right now the whole group was huddled in Yami and Yugi's bedroom. Ryou and Malik were sitting anxiously on the bed, trying to comfort a crying Yugi sitting between them. Marik was leaning against the doorframe, twirling his Millennium Rod through his fingers. Seto and Mokuba were on the loveseat, the former typing frantically on his laptop, trying to figure out how his security measures had been breached. Bakura was pacing the floor angrily, occasionally snarling at someone for making too much noise, usually Ron, who was standing by Harry and Hermione near the balcony.

"I'm trying to figure that out, freak," Seto replied curtly. "There must have been a flaw in the security system."

"Security system my ass!" Bakura snarled. "Those wizards can get past those easily with their magic! What _I'm_ pissed about is that it happened right. Under. Our. Noses!"

"Stop arguing, guys, it isn't helping!" Ryou exclaimed, patting Yugi on the back as he hiccupped softly.

"Yeah, we should be trying to figure out how to rescue Yami, not complaining about how you couldn't stop the Death Eaters from taking him!" Hermione agreed shrilly. All the action had taken a visible toll on her. Her voice was higher than usual and there were dark circles under her eyes.

"Hermione's right, we need to think of a plan!" Ron interjected, and the brunette shot him a grateful look.

"Like what?" Malik asked. "We don't even know where he was taken!"

Up until then, Harry had remained silent, but now he spoke, his voice hard with determination.

"He's at the Riddle Manor."

Everybody turned to look at him. Harry was clutching his forehead, and his eyes were dark with thoughts.

"I'm getting a weird feeling…sort of happy…kind of like a sadistic happiness though…like he's taking pleasure in hurting somebody," realizing what he said, Harry looked up quickly at Yugi, who had gone pale. "But I'm sure he's fine," he added quickly. "He _is_ pretty resistant to the Cruciatus Curse after all."

"Just because he can take it for ten minutes doesn't mean he can take it for any amount of time," Bakura said gruffly. "It's probably best we rescue him sooner than later, if you get my drift."

"Right," Malik agreed. "After all, we don't want him to end up in that hospital of yours—OW!" Ryou had elbowed the Egyptian in the side, glaring warningly at him, and Malik, catching sight of Yugi's distraught expression, immediately shut up.

"How are we going to get to this 'Riddle Manor' anyways?" Marik asked dubiously. "Where exactly is it?"

Harry paused, thinking back to the times he spent in Dumbledore's office with the Pensieve. The Riddle Manor…was in a town called…a town called…

"Hangleton!" he burst out, causing everybody to stare at him. "Riddle Manor is in Little Hangleton. I think it's somewhere in the countryside."

"Well that settles it then," Seto said curtly, typing something in on his laptop. "Alright, I've got the coordinates. Let's go." With that, he snapped his briefcase shut and got up, walking briskly out of the room. Yugi jumped up and followed after him, a new gleam of determination in his eyes

* * *

(1) Cheeeesy…and don't kill me for hurting Yami. /hides/ I just like making him suffer. xD

**Darkie: **Well, there you have my hastily thrown together chapter that I wrote about a million years ago. Just saying, when I 'discovered' it in my Fanfiction file, I just scanned it to make sure it was complete. So there were probably a lot of mistakes...yeah. Sorry about that. It's just I've been losing interest in this story...not that into HP/YGO crossovers anymore. But..._-strikes heroic pose- _For the sake of my readers, I shall carry on! Even if it kills me!

**Yami: **Quit being such a drama queen...


End file.
